February Snow

Snow on the cedars

Snow on the firs

Snow on the rhodies, thistles and reeds

Snow on the berry bushes, apples and pears

Snow on the willows, on iris and weeds

Snowy lilacs, ceanothus, spruce, ferns

Snow on the dandelions shivering white

On exposed, freezing heads without any hat

A feather light whiteness gracing their locks

Ice-covered streams wrapped in blankets of white

Gurgle beneath the downy, soft quilt

Snow makes all beautiful, covering dirt

Covering corn stalks and fields growing wheat

Snow on the blackberry vines so abhorred

Making all equal—a magnanimous gift

Snow coming down as a feathery mist

Snow on the roof tops, both human and wild

Snow on the shivering rocks on the wall

Snow locks me in

Snow calls me outdoors

Snow.

Beautiful only

Because it’s brief.