Saturday, October 16

Days of Cloud and Snow

Angry Winter Sky

Peace in the Valley

Crater Lake Blue

Days of Clouds and Snow
- Kathy Mackey

Low sky presses mist then rain
into red hillsides, arroyos, and dry
channels intended for wet weather.
Soon frozen air, fresh from Alaska,
whirls and breeds sleet then snow.

Gentle cold drifts of tiny crystals
cover red tile roofs of houses,
whitening abandoned gardens,
piling fluff onto decks and porches.

Fireplaces, hot chocolate, down comforters
ward off frigid dampness inside warm rooms
 where climate is just a word, tamed and observed,
 not an experience, wild, unbound, surprising.