Winter Expressions

It’s spring in the meadow,

And I’m here once again.

I walk to the middle,

And announce my name.

Because the small ones don’t know me,

And the old ones forget;

There I stand for a moment,

Until they’re reminded we’ve met.

And when attention is paid

And their branches have swayed;

I can see when they’re ready

By the tilt of their frame.

I stroll from the center

To the first in my view,

And tell him the sun’s raise have made him like new.

And the ones that recall me

From the years that’ve gone by;

Are delighted to know

That I won’t pass them by.

Each one listens intently

To the stories I tell;

Though it’s meant for their neighbour

Others eaves-drop as well.

I remind them of autumn

Just before their leaves fell;

But they’re curious of winter

And his magical spell.

So I begin to explain

What they missed as they slept;

How the sun shimmered off

The frost as it spread.

How the snow had been sprinkled

Never missing a branch;

How they bowed underneath its powerful weight.

And they all sigh in wonder,

As they hear of the rain

How it dropped from the heavens

And froze on the land;

Never sparing a grass blade or their tiniest strand.

As I leave for the night

They all bow in their grace

And I hear the wind whisper;

“You have friends in this place.”