JANUARY AUBADE

Observe this expanse of glowering sky
in slate-toned pagodas to winter's freeze
where north winds bite both nose and eye
and the blood retreats from bitter breeze.

A robin sings out mournful madrigals
to awaken slumbering daffodil buds,
while naked boughs bow like praying Cardinals
reflected in the unseasonal floods.

Crowding around a hanging fat ball
chirping sparrows compete to eat,
as blackbirds wait for crumbs to fall
beneath a lichen-encrusted seat.

And as Nature's cycle begins again
euphoria transforms my world-weary brain...