[1/27/22]

Today, we're on the cusp of intense cold and a possible major winter storm, tomorrow night into Saturday---or not. Models are all over the place. Please be safe, everyone along the East Coast.

And this morning I'm moved to share a haiku sequence I wrote back in early February 2017. It kind of echoes my feelings these winter days of lingering pandemic. _________________

Pasture Pastiche

winter afternoon— overlapping gold and gray in the wheat field

distant train whistle— missing you more when the wind rises

barbed wire on the roadside fence— it's uneven weave

warped now the cardboard on which you drew my Valentine

snowy farmhouse roof sheep in the corral—both whiter in the dusk

not since childhood the warmth of a dog beside me in bed

beyond the fields gauzy clouds veil forests, lakes, and darker hills

tracing the patchwork corners time has frayed— grandmother's quilt

above this spinning Earth spheres upon spheres stitch galaxies together

drifting toward sleep I ride my spirit wolf into the Great North Woods

(c) 2022 Penny Harter