UN COEUR EN HIVER by JOHN ENGSTROM

UN COEUR EN HIVER
By JOHN ENGSTROM

Dark, mountainous clouds
Encroach upon the sea horizon,
They occlude and cancel
a clear, luminous sky.
Plymouth Harbor quiets down
and there is now a
Sharper edge to the shadows.
Tones of rust and orange
Have overtaken some of
The green of the woods that
Surround the village and
Slope down to the sea.
It’s cold in the knife-edge shadows,
And warm in the sunlight.
A tree next to Alden House
Sheds its yellow confetti.
Under a dome of piercing blue
The shadows of the settlers’
Thatched cottages have become
Black parallelograms on the
Bone-white sand.
Bare, skeletal trees cast
Snarling dragon shapes on
The frozen ground. The
Sun glares as it sets and
Sheds gold light on
Winslow House. Breezes
Emanate from nowhere;
Advance and recede, like
Hissing surf, ruffling what
Remains of the feathers
of the trees. October 1997