Winter in New York

Winter  blowing--stiff, dry, rustling in the empty lot,

Vacant, covered with weeds,

Broken bottle scraps etched by the sandy summer rains.

Caps with cork, buried and dented

Mind splintering, rasped edges, frozen with footprints

White owl swivels, vanishing into a naked tree--

I know it’s snowing! Don’t tell me!

I’ve seen those shriveled twigs, barked by snow, white theatrics!

Grey midnights, star-stuffed skies

Mind shivering, sockets empty, iced with dreams

I’ve tasted snow already! Stinging, melty, dusty, smelling of wire,

Flakes clumping on the window screen. Yes,

I see the spring shadows, hunching over the branchy tips,

Curling, nipping at the buds

Mind cracking, strafed by morning, sniffing after spring.