Winter's Melt

Leaves crinkle

Their crunch a soundtrack

To the ending of a season,

A sign of change,

The warning of ends to come

And the promise of a tomorrow

The rebirth and reemergence

Of color in counted days,

Fresh green on the horizon

Of the somber days,

A flicker in the distance

Light promised after the dark

As we trudge through landscapes

Darkened by spirits

And Mother’s mourning

For all those last

From the beginning of the rotation-

Her anger at Father Time

Reciprocated in the whipping winds

And the roaring ocean breeze,

The ice shards hanging precariously

On cliff ledge

As passerby glances up

Dazzled momentarily by the sun’s reflection

Watching with a warm smile

As the water begins to drip,

A sign of warming

A sign of coming thaw-

A breath released,

Damp fog issued forth

Turning all warm blooded creatures

To magical creatures among the wood,

As they trudge on

Towards the next day

With the thought of the dripping ice

Fresh in their mind,

Cracking their own cold hearts

For the moment being.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

Interested in finding more reads? Click here for more information!