Ice

Trees glisten in the sunrise
Glassy tinsel draped carefully on branches
The thin shiny layer of crunch
Atop yesterday's fluffy undercover
Is it the cold wind that takes my breath away
Or the beauty of the winter sparkle?

Hoof prints under empty feeders
Tell of deerly disappointed neighbors
Wings leave no evidence of dining
Greedies have squirreled away a stash
We crunch out to offer refills
And wonder which customers will find them first

Our breath freezes in the air
Waiting for the school bus
Bundled from headtop to toetip
Toting gear and a change of shoes
Too excited by the white to sit still
And learn our lessons later today

Does it pack, can we sled, or build or play
These questions omnipresent
Throughout the school's confinement
Lectures lessons worksheets spelling
Are lost to daydreams of ice castles
Of Lords and Ladies of the winter