First Frost

Venus shown bright in the morning sky and the moon hung large o'er a suddenly frozen land. The morning sky the blue of Easter eggs or mosques, tinged with orange in the east, still dark to the west. Our old dog frisked rolling in the frosty grass, calves bounded along the fence, ewes sat contentedly, their chalked posteriors signs of active rams. Later we will curse the dying sun but this morning Venus shown bright in the morning sky and the moon hung large o'er a suddenly frozen land. DWR MCMXCI A poem from more than 20 y ago but appropriate for the season.