Winter Work

When the morning is spread with silver sheen  
Everything covered with the sparkle white
Of frost's thin coat  
Trees stand naked and bare  
In the shaming winter's cold, cold air  
The tiny yard birds come around  
Scurrying, searching for seeds  
And just inside the wood line  
Movement ever so slight,  
To barely form the shadowy shape of a deer  
Stiff necked. ears erect, eyes wide open  
And head on a swivel  
Then a calculated step and hold  
To look and listen and be still  
After a quiet moment, another single step  
Ever so slowly she makes herself known  
Coming into the edge of the pasture  
And when her senses are satisfied  
She grazes, head down, but ever wary  
Uneasiness comes easy for prey  
The morning sun glistens through the trees  
Crows caw and squirrels bark  
Golden sage grass sways in the breeze  
But in the farmhouse the fireplace warms a room  
Where the dog is curled up
Chasing rabbits in his sleep
As the man looks out his window  
At the cold and the frost  
And sees the deer, the crows, and the squirrels  
He decides to have another cup of coffee  
To put off his chores just another bit longer  
To allow the sun to come up a little more  
And let the deer feel secure  
As she eats her precious green grass  
Because he knows the work will still be there  
Even after she's gone