A Late Winter Scene

Pools of shimmering melted snow,
A bird flies above leafless trees,
The crisp wind gives a gentle blow,
A year’s cold sufferings unfreeze.

The seasons change with gallant Spring,
The world looks at itself anew,
Three sit cross-legged meditating,
With clear minds and hearts so true.

Drops of water fall from white snow,
Like sweat that falls from a strained face,
The pain of racing thoughts don’t show,
As they evaporate into grace.

Leaves like attachments now removed,
On the Spring ground they are but dust,
For students of the Way, it behooves
To keep only what they must.

The austere, skeletal branches
Mirror their cold cheekbones made gaunt
Surviving life’s avalanches,
They’re students no ghost would dare to haunt.

The austerities of Winter
Temper the heroes of the Spring,
And all nature is the cantor,
For epic hymns the students sing.