Shades of Gray
The trees are silvered with ice,
limbs droop, unable to hold
the weight. Some have snapped,
pine sap scents the air
against the backdrop of slate.
The branches sway in the wind
against smoky sky.
Pop, crash, a leaden branch snags
the wires and they bounce in their coats
of ice. The house is quiet, no refrigerator
humming, no heat pump compressor.
The weak sun tries to pierce
the pewter clouds,
makes only enough light to read
by the window.
Barbara Brooks, author of “The Catbird Sang” and “A Shell to Return to the Sea” chapbooks, is a member of Poet Fools. Her work has been accepted in Avalon Literary Review, Chagrin River Review, The Foundling Review, Blue Lake Review, Third Wednesday, Peregrine, Tar River Poetry among others.