Winter rain dissolves the snow
and reveals a hidden green.
Scant lamplight dots the darkness
where homesick phantoms wander
beyond the hemlock screen.

Winter nights put arms around
the shrunken hours of day.
Branches lay cloaked in icy beads
as the moon seldom peers
from the frozen curtain of gray.

Winter birds sleep in mossy grottos
while their cousins make for the sea.
One day I'll be moved by vernal blaze
but until then I'll just let the clouds cry for me.