And then it snows!

HAIKU

Pine needle carpets

embrace the cold forest floor

before the first snow

3/18/90 Phyllis VanVleck

Leaves

HAIKU

Leaves torched with colors

of flaming scarlet and gold

wear frosty white wraps

3/14/90 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

Whoops!

WINTER WOE

Today it’s very cold outside
Drippy nose
Frozen toes
Weather’s right for a nice sled ride
Cough and wheeze
Great big sneeze
Snow-fun beckoned, and so I tried
Slipped and fell
Painful yell
Bruised my body and my pride
Home in bed
Bandaged head
Tomorrow I will stay inside

1/4/90 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

November

WINTER CURSE

When harvest days are over
And leaves have left the trees
November blows her cold breath
And we all cough and wheeze

11/02 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

Fall’s Masterpiece

HAIKU

Fall’s great masterpiece

wiped from nature’s huge canvas

winter’s quick cold hand

3/16/90 Phyllis VanVleck

Gifts of Nature

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF NATURE

The sights and sounds of nature
are sweet this time of year.
Scarlet, gold, and saffron tones
announce a change in seasons.
Winging geese form chevron patterns
in a blue enamel sky,
honking their goodby song,
until spring bursts forth next year.
Crickets find their way inside
and settle near my hearth.
They’ll pester us with strident songs
when winter snow is high.
The pungent smell of burning leaves
lends credence to the scene,
as curls of blue smoke fill the air,
and scent the autumn months.
Sluggish bees cling where they can,
cleaning their tired wings.
No longer prone to use their sting,
they’ll exist on succulent
amber drops of hive-honey.
Daddy-longlegs cluster-up
in tangles, for warmth.
Abundant in crevices of doors
and windows, they look like discarded
wads of black sewing threads.
Slow-motion is the essence
of this time of languor,
once again cloaking the land
in colorful autumn robes.
God’s glorious gift of nature.

6/6/95 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

6′th … Indiana NPD 1995