haiku – Page 8 – Garden of Words

The Lesson of Winter is Perseverance

against bare branches
and the crust of snow
red berries still hang,
saying, “persevere”

the wind stops burning
I feel sun on the face
one moment, then another

wind sears the skin
on the hillside in the sun
no way out but through

the cold doesn’t burn
when the sun’s eight fingers high
and the wind is still

waited all year for
this white pine, this blue sky
this empty street

the mind is silent
sun slants into afternoon
the air, almost warm

bare branches tracing
against a cloudless, pale sky
sun sets them glowing

the trees in the swamp
glow yellow and red. the trees
on the hill, still green

on Boston Common
sun shines the same on us all:
squirrels, humans, water

in the dappled shade
black and white kitty finds joy
chasing her own tail

halfway up the wall
clematis, purple, waves
and catches the rain

out of silence
the heart rises, stirs
opens the eyes

in the summer grass
the cat finds a wounded bird
and begins to play

marathon monday
april air crisp as tulips
blood on the pavement

the sun
the snow
the open window