Snow-clad jackpine boughs
frame a winter night sky
in which the stars
seem simply holes
punched randomly
in a darkness
that symbolizes,
chromatically,
the level of empathy,
the depth of enlightenment,
achieved by our species.
The tiny spots of starlight
seem to offer hope,
a light-filled glimpse
of a softer,
a kinder
reality.
A breeze stirs the pines,
and the boughs offer
the gift of snow
to the patient
fallow ground:
scudding clouds
extinguish
stellar promise,
and metaphorically shatter
dreams of spring,
and thoughts of peace.
