february

rising unimpassioned from the snow
the unclothed trees tremble in the chill

each arm bearing the weight
of a winter copious and cumbersome

a vibrant hush floods
the breadth between branches

only interrupted by the impertinent sound
of footsteps in the snow

the stillness envelopes all motion
encapsulates all time. seconds slow.

exhalation pauses, stumbling on the lull
and then erupts in a puff of frosty steam

up into the caliginous sky
glass-like in it's spherical expanse

the conscience clears, open as the night
lit by icy points of unhindered perception

the mind yawns open
made navigable to all the honesty of the evening

revelations skid across the psyche
and truths emerge from the wind-tossed snow.