Spring tender
summer full
autumn release
and winter lull

Which to love more?
tempt me each
but perhaps it is this season
playful trees
covering boots that hide
under frothy leaves
while animals pick up
last year’s scattered homes
before snow falls in love
with winter’s hard ground

the candelabra oak dims
nests bounce high
as the sky quakes
the tired bury deep
bodies circle
accumulating sleep

later I tap my door
click snow from the tread
and announce winter is here
unloading arms
of fire not yet started
I begin the symphony
of wooden blocks
dropped on hearth’s rock
then squeak the stove’s door
stuff dry wood with a clunk
in the chimney’s yawning mouth
poking prodding stoking
chimney coughs then roars
and I find my time well-spent
this season
gathering like snow
beginning to drift