February 28: Dark

After the party,

that first moment alone

on the empty street.

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February 27: Bus trip home

Another time on a bus

I envied a blind man reading

the whole dark drive.

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February 26: Boston

If I were a pigeon

I too would swoop

between these tall buildings.

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February 25: Cold night

Soup and toast
and old episodes of "Buffy"--
a cold night's comfort.

February 24: Hawk in the park

A walk in the park
startles a hawk from its lunch--
feathers everywhere.

February 23: Birdsong

Melting snow and ice.

My spirits lift to hear

a sparrow singing.

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February 22: Sunset

Gull catches fire

over my car as I drive

into the sunset.

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February 21: Rain, rain

Even the birch trees

look sodden

and tired of winter.

 

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February 20: Shoveling yet again

I'm getting really tired of shoveling snow this winter, and yet whenever I'm outside, shovel in hand, I always notice something that makes me stop a moment and feel grateful for being out there.

Perfect line of mouse tracks
in snow. I hesitate
before shoveling.

February 19: When will winter be over?

Red hot cardinal
sings with vigor
above piles of fresh snow.

February 18: Another storm approaches

As the day wore on
the light dimmed.
Snow falls now in the dark.

February 17: Tracks in the snow

Snowshoed up Beech Hill in Rockport this afternoon with my friend Brian and his dog Jack. The trail up hadn't seen human traffic since this most recent storm. But we observed tracks of many other creatures that had left their mark on the fresh snow: coyote, snowshoe hare, squirrel, mouse, the interweaving paths of a flock of turkeys.

I step over tracks
of many turkeys, each bird
leaving its own trail.

February 16: Longing

Finch sings songs of spring
while I shovel
a foot of fresh snow

February 15: Birding before the storm

Hours before snow falls,

restless owls leave their perches,

hawk catches a vole.

February 14: A swarm of crows

Up on the mountain
many more crows than I expect
rise from the trees.

February 13: Day before Valentine's Day

Snow falls all day
but still the titmice
sing their love songs.

February 12: Moon rise

Buddha, wrapped in snow
blanket, watches the moon rise
over Mount Battie.

February 11: Finding love in strange places

Dirty tire tracks
on the snowy driveway
trace twin hearts.

February 10: Ducks

The many colors

of Mallards resting

in the sunlit harbor.

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February 9: Gulls

What better way to spend a sunny winter's day along the waterfront than by observing gulls with birder friends, punctuated by lunch at a good Vietnamese restaurant.

Distracted by birds
we don't notice we're cold
until we're slurping hot pho.

February 8: Raven

I crane my neck to see
a single raven
soaring above Route One.

February 7: After the dance

Moon high.
Throat sore from shouting
over the music.

February 6: Mouse tracks in the snow

Mouse tracks under the feeders.
I hope the birds
have been sloppy eaters.

February 5: Moon before a snowstorm

Last night's moon:

Hazy crescent moon
trapped behind a fence
of bare branches.

February 4: Cardinal at dusk

Male cardinal is always one of the last birds to visit the feeder at day's end.

Lighter at 5:00pm now,
but I still can't see
the cardinal's red.

February 3: White sky

Color of an intaken
breath. Waiting--
blank Monday sky.

February 2: Imbolc

Two days above freezing.
These amorous squirrels
must think it's spring.

February 1: Orion

After Pecha Kucha at the Rockport Opera House last night:

Bustle of people
spilling out onto the street.
Above, calm Orion.