AFTER A NIGHT OF SNOW
He describes
For he doubts all logic
And only his senses remain true
He wants to talk of these things
How the sun rises into
The vacancy of sky
With only rock and bare dirt
And thin crusts of ice
To support the weight of light
How the juncos shake dark snow
From their wings
How cloud and light
Mesa and stone
Leaf and creek
And the moon
Linger
In the dazzling exposure of noon
How the wind
Blows the long hair
Of one woman he knows–
To mask her
Beautiful smile
As she comes back to work
From her lunch
How patches of snow persist
On the broken gray asphalt
Of the parking lot
How the land appears broken
He thinks, Spring never comes
It seems