EMPTY WINTER

Winter
season of death
short rations
scarcity
empty silent woods
scant of even sunlight

Lest one stops
sits still
and listens
then......

A silent crow flies in clear sky
with lightly whispering wings
the winds in pine tree quietly sighs
a far distant church bell rings

A rustling in the leaves betrays
a nearby scuttling chipmunk
among the duff of browns and grays
air currents carry whiff of skunk

in tree tops, acrobats of gray
with bushy tails cavort and jump
making limbs rattle and sway
then eating acorns on an old stump

Next : out of place hammering
of a large pileated wood pecker
while on a dead tree searching
for a termite double- decker

A bright blue jaybird giving hell
to a coyote seeking food
bats in hollow tree beside a well
awaiting night, they hang and brood

Why you might even see a deer
if you are really lucky
as nuthatches flit both far and near
with their tails all stiff and plucky

So the empty winter time
not so barren after all..............