I took advantage of the sliver of time
between the winter’s cold rains
and the promised coming snow
to walk among the pines.
The air, frigid and moist, licked my face
and I was glad for the pines that their bark
is thick. I placed my gloved hand against
the trunk of one and felt its stoic peace
radiating into me. Beneath my boots, bits
of twigs and bark lay on the fading leaves,
and here, beside a fallen spray of pine,
a sprinkle of red berries lay, as if to add color
to the drab gray of the day. A shiver
of delight rose inside me at the sight of them,
How kind, I thought, to offer such a decoration,
a gift for my eyes, and perhaps a treat
for some lucky critter wandering across
the winter forest floor.