this winter landscape—leafless and deciduous,

gray barked, white with snow—

affords, through excurrent and decurrent

branches, views of hills

unseen from april to october.

from the sunny porch

i see the paths i walk with familiarity,

but never see, but now, 

from a distance—distance and

perspective—and though cold seeps

through my layers of clothing

i am heartened, if not warmed, by the view,

and glad i brave the cold, and glad 

you brave the cold.