The argent faced orb hung swallowed
then spit out whole
an undulant shimmer
across a black mirror pond
–the calm before …
Sky aswirl slate and gray
as rays escape that hovering gaze
show blood upon the snow.
Swift sibilant sound of wings
as moonbeam glints
off a flash of white feathers.
Golden eyes ride in hunt
thru a night’s gelid air
Boreas’ blustering winds
bitter, brutal and burdening
ㅤ with effortless breath
cloaks in crystalline hoarfrost
both living and the dead.
Sits a Winter’s ghost
in the darkened bones
of forest-stand
–a shiver in skeletons
against the frozen horizon.
Faint footfalls echo about
the woodland floor below
glistened in ombré of silvers.
Slivers of discordant heart
tiny icicles resonate
between arc of branches
in skyward prayer
ㅤ from brittle jingle
death comes
with blades drawn
–a grip of icy talons.
©jef l littlejohn 2019
