Winter Wanes...

Crystalline canyons and ice mountains in miniature
     overlook the river of pavement
     from their curbside perch
     left over from the last snow storm...
They are ever changing,
     each day getting smaller,
     each night freezing in their places,
     hoping for more snow
     or at least more cloudy days...
The ice that remains on sidewalks and driveways
     look like topographic maps of a frozen world,
     with whorls and swirls marking each one
     like a snowflake or a fingerprint,
     no two the same...
Icicles drip in the sunlight
    and harden in the moonlight,
     hanging precariously over doorways and walkways,
     Periclean daggers hanging over
     the unsuspecting pedestrians,
    who like all natives of a city who never look up
    at the sky or the architecture from bye gone days
    when buildings were still beautiful and not just tall...
Light is coming earlier and staying longer,
     a sure sign that despite
     the seemingly endless winter
     spring sits and waits in eager anticipation
     for its return that signals new life...
Let us also begin anew, not bemoaning the past
     but looking with hope for what is to come...
                  02-02-14