New Poem from the Winter Work Weekend

January Snowshoe at Little Notch

Après means after.

The day started with chalky skies and bunnies

Absent from their tracks in the snow.

A ghostly deer ballet indented itself across the

Empty carpark, fringed with snowshoe tracks and snow angels.

Snowshoes removed, glasses steamed,

Boots off, grilled cheese hello spiced with hugs

In a cross- log pocket of warm.

Après, through dark trees suspended

Between milk sky and milk ground,

To gray rocks by a frosted lake,

Still as before a storm, I lit incense,

Placed a love-warm, whisperful pebble

Onto the pad of snow top the small memorial.

Après, the brief naked sun

Lifted white from the snow,

Spun it to veils of cloud,

And she danced, slowly, low to the ground,

Peeking through trees, making

Shadow bunnies to fill empty tracks,

And light sang as she step, step, step to the west my darling…..

Après, through horizontal bars of shadow,

As snow fell, and dusk fell, and my snowshoes

Went from shush to squeak as the clear sky

Went cornflower, slate, royal, navy, indigo, violet.

Behind me an owl called, just once.

Ahead of me Venus reclined against purple.

I leaned back on my cold, cold car as all

The other stars came out to play.

Tess Lecuyer