dusk
too early
night
too long
nostalgia from childhood
decorating gingerbread houses
then a young boy
now
once more
with you
older with thin hair
and such rough hands
but with you
dusk allows an ease to arrive
no artificial light
shadows
of hands reaching
to face
and just being ok
in being
Porch boards with frost
Hold prints
Of a small animal scurrying
Here and there
Sun warms shingles
Of the house across the way
Vapor catching early light
My cat
With legs tucked beneath him
Eyes closed
Seems so very content
a squirrel builds a nest
scurrying up and down
the side of our shed
carrying leaves
it disappears into the rafters
and then emerges
again
and again
and again
trees moan in frigid wind
sun casts rigid shadows
it is so cold
moisture on the windows
layers of clothing
now lighting a fire
in the rain
birds return to the feeder
swooping down
then again
to the branches above
in some pattern
i do not yet
understand
