WONDERWRITINGS
Issue 1.3        Summer 2005

Winter Paints
Elizabeth Thomas

 in shades of gray
yet it's a warm day in January.
Like children we grab the dog,
run outside to hug the air,
blow kisses from behind trees,
tramp through soggy leaves in the back woods.
We savor the squish beneath our boots,
the sound of squirrels 
digging up thawed out leftovers.
Downed limbs block our path
as the sun cuts through tops of trees.
We come out on the road 
to the sound of giggly girls on roller blades.
Surprised to see us, 
they crash into each other,
landing in a tangle of friendship.
A neighbor we have not met 
works on his truck,
waves a greasy palm and wrench.
Houses exposed 
behind the bones of winter
are no longer secrets kept .
Spectral, they rise 
out of the fog of our exhalation,
wavering in the warmth 
of this unexpected day.

We turn up our driveway.
A lone piece of tinsel
flashes in the sun.
 

Copyright 2005 by Elizabeth Thomas. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Thomas is a poet and educator residing in western Connecticut. She founded Upwords, a program devoted to helping young people memorize, recite, and perform poetry--their own and classics. www.upwordspoetry.com