(A variation of "Spring", also in this collection.)
Waiting begins slowly, 'tis the longest phase;A game at first, temperatures dropping day after day;
40, 30, 20, 10, 0, how low can it go?
A game scored with ice, sleet and snow;
Waiting month after month, will it ever end?
The clues subtle now, crow, eagle, and occasional fox;
Has the Mother forsaken her children?
Waiting, unseen, under the snow and ice;
Voles and mice leaving trails found when snow recedes;
Beaver, muskrat and otter in lodges on frozen water;
Eagles in aeries raising chicks as it blows;
'Tis not yet the Ides of March on the upper Great Lakes;
Wind 40 knots howls as a chorus of wolves;
Temperature low teens, wind chill 30 below;
Six inches of new snow, drifts a foot or so;
Scene so dour, will spring ever come?
Sun's daily treck, higher o'er the horizon;
Snows melt, colors change, grass and wildflowers renew;
Spring once more!