Winter Birch and Other Poems

By James Joseph Snyder

Winter Birch

stark white bones of bare birch protrude
into the sky
trunks rise up with splayed branches thrust out 
naked and raw
displayed in front of tall trees of leaves still dying
trees swaying with leaf-mass sails in cold ambling
wind biding its time for winter storms
while white bones stiff nothing to move them with
wind caresses cold in glancing pass 
while bare birch will stand Winter through
waiting still to be Spring-renewed

the simple motions of sustenance

hunched over full plate
body bowed in chair like prayer
slow fork up to careful mouth
meditation in minimal motion of meal

softly chew with silent view	
see the birds of the sky fed
morning ritual to greet anew
observing eternal while inside head

slowly plate empties to face
starts with prayer ends with grace

it hurts to see

a male singer so pure looking in that old Russian way
the white face, the dark dark long hair and full beard
the deep deep voice so holy sounding singing boldly and speaking Scripture

I watch him on the internet
I don’t want to look at his wife
because I assume that: 

she is a Russian beauty, so so beautiful
that I would be tempted into ugly brooding
it hurts to see the evil rise up burning in me

she likely so so holy brought up in Orthodoxy
the Spirit of God emanating from pure white face and dark dark eyes
it hurts to see holy brightness burns on me

I choose what to look at the discipline of eyes
I want to be so pure pure looking see beauty and holy only
it hurts to be loving but burns clean  

James Joseph Snyder is a retired engineer living in Minnesota. He writes poetry of observation and reflection, celebrating the joy of words, their meanings and sounds. Recent publications include Ariel Chart, Spank the Carp, Cracked Walnut Anthology 2023, and this publication in Feb 2023.