SEASONS - A POEM OF WINTER

BY SHEILA GAIL LANDGRAF

I open my back door to a windy blustering day and try to find my cat.

His water bowl is frozen over. 

I pet him and bring him inside to get warm.

I feed him warm milk by the fire and watch him curl up in a ball content and happy to  purr the day away.

I step out of the warm house to get the mail and feel the cutting wind blow sharply across my face. 

Winter is here. 

It comes slowly spreading its dark shadows across the land.

With no warning at all; it has arrived. 

The darkest days of the year begin, bringing cold, pouring rain. 

It is time to pull out my heaviest coat.

As I hear the silence grow I recognize this soft sound of winter 
It comes tiptoeing into our world with quiet steps
Steps that fall gently around those spaces of my life that are usually loud and full of sound.  
But now there is a hush on the land as everyone waits on the cold to pass.
They stay huddled inside under piles of blankets.

 The birds have all flown away and I miss their lovely songs.

Those few who stayed behind are now shivering under the eaves of someone's house, hoping to catch some heat from the outside walls as the smoke billows out from the busy chimney tops.

Straight and tall and waiting, the black trees stand against the gray sky and shiver.

Winter brings a different dance, one that is whirling and dark.

I must find my warm hat. 

I will begin to wear my wool scarf again.

 Just when the sky is grayest and you think all joy is lost;

The merry red and sometimes rusted sleds come out of hiding.

Tow-haired boys pull them along the hillsides with slippery ropes.

Big eyed little girls grab their scarves and mittens and run outside to play.

Snowmen appear and begin their dance up and down the lane.

White flakes drift through the crisp air and land on very cold noses.

Passing carolers stroll along singing as if they were not even cold,
Their outlines stand against the dark sky, all bundled inside their coats and mittens and scarfs. 

Christmas comes alive and lasts for twelve days in the best places.

It is a nice break into the gray bleakness of the silent season.

On New Years Day I look out the window and see dark even in the middle of the day.  What a strange time to be turning a page and beginning again.

Do all good beginnings not seek for light?

Remembering the secret to problems that can’t be solved right away;

 I grab my favorite book from the shelf and temporarily take a summer vacation.  There is still light inside my heart and imagination and it warms the room.  Sipping Chai tea that my daughter made in my big overstuffed chair, I snuggle deep into a story and read right through the darkest days of winter.

 After good distractions from all my favorite authors I find myself sitting by the fireplace with warm memories that will last me till spring,  I drink in the luxury of basking in an unexpected moment of  absolutely no activity and my soul realizes that winter is just a short snuggle until the sun decides to shine again.

As I bundle up and head out the door for errands my heart is cheered with the lovely unexpected and unanticipated surprises of winter.  I finish my errands and stop for a small treat, a pleasant reward for braving the cold evening air. 

Looking out the storefront window while sipping hot chocolate I ponder the fact that the stars shine brighter against a winter sky. 

The skyline of the cityscape blinks back at me as if to give a special winter’s greeting.  It stands crisp and bright and glowing against the night sky, lovely and unafraid of tomorrow.

And every winter comes and goes this quickly with its sneaky little moments of warm memories that make up for the cold weather.

Why am I surprised every year all over again?