Sonnet to Hope
Ice crackles audibly on car and face,
Windy blasts slap frigidly at the back door,
How to escape this cold day’s confinement,
Surprise! Outside, Lantanas in full bloom.
Baby yuccas illumine a fence corner,
Their mamas and papas died dry last year,
They taught them the meaning of Texas springs,
Their infants are in full yellow flower.
Teased by the warmth of south winds yesterday,
In their innocence will they fight to stay,
To meet the redbuds in a week or two,
Hold on children, winter is almost through.
Now silhouetted sleeping trees, leafless
Pattern a glorious and purple sunset.
A group of yucca
Next to a fence post
In an otherwise barren
Landscape
Pushing up through the snow
The only life seen
In the death grip of
Winter's Heart
The racing winds
Driving the snow
To conquer the
Land
Razors of wind
Biting and tearing
Through thick layers of
Clothing
The only defense
Is to be inside
Sheltered from the claws of this
Blizzard
Staring out at
The unchanging white
Broken only by the yuccas'
Green