Winter

There!
             wind snakes thru
angry shutters, rattles ears,
cold winter breezes seep
vibrant colors of autumn,
life from fallen leaves,

             thin figures huddle,
hunker down in heavy down
jackets, hide their faces, be-
come two dimensional sketches,
wispy pencil smeared phantoms
on side-walked streets,

pass by without raising head
or hand, bleed out time and space,
storm's coming, bearing down,
thick wood on window snaps
and the air jumps back, whistles,
barks, howls--

clouds descending,
mirror the sunset,
car headlights click, and
as if out cobalt blue nothing
a searing knife cuts from
the fog,

blaring,
blaring--