Winter Tree (Poetry)

You stand there naked — bare-boned-drab
stripped of all your finery
I know that look — understand how sad
the aftermath can seem — turned glitter-free.

The cold wind strikes right to your heart —
no brightness to deflect
now shadows hang in droves and crowd the dark
emptiness infects

and whispers chill our aching limbs
we dream of dazzle gone
while round us winter stretches grim —
no bauble-glint of sun.

We aren’t alone, glum winter tree.
Wood or flesh, all living things the same
for sap and blood both flow more sluggishly
when days are full of rain.