Photography © Linda Matthews-Denham

 

The Master Dance

Winter fades in and out
Like the screen on an old tv.
One day snow, one day rain,
One day only puffs of cloud
(In a sky not yet February blue).

Fall yields to winter, winter to fall
In an erratic pas de deux
As the sun falls day by day.
Daylight dims and sunset
Closes in on dawn like a vise.

And then comes the solstice.
Winter relaxes it solar grip
By minuscule amounts, teasing
Ever teasing the hopefilled
Even as winter’s true depth
Of cold settles in
For the long haul.

Ah, at last here’s the vernal equinox
Charging in on windback
Causing spirits to rise and
Making maple sap to surge and fall
(Just in time for sugaring into syrup).
Not too long now until warm,
Caressing breezes blow
Igniting smoldering desires.

At last, summer heat
Takes us in hand
Until autumnal airs
Again mark time
In the measured beats
Of the autumnal minuet.

 

Mark Levy: “I am now safely retired and returning to writing poems, the love of my youth, purely for pleasure in this bewildering time. As a reformed English major I have to cite Robert Frost’s description as ‘a momentary stay against confusion,’ with the emphasis on ‘momentary.'”

Linda Matthews-Denham lives in the countryside along the Thames River in Berkshire, England. Her passion is photography, photo restoration and art history of Paris. She also works very closely with many British authors restoring images for publication.