The Slowness Of Winter

When all the trees have dropped their fruit and larvae burrow through
When all the starlings bellies are full and pigs boozy breath mists in the air
When scarred and tangled branches crack heaving to sprout anew
When forest floors are draped in crunchy blankets where cold toes never dare

When stars light the pin pricked sky, and the dawn sun wars the chill
When waters fluid dominion forgets its motion and surrenders to the still
When man and beast are equals in the fight for life and soul
When the treacle dark of night pours over the obscured horizons bowl

When is winter, cold yet sweet, savoured through the toil
Persephones touch long forgotten in the barren of the land
Today is when acorns slumber enrobed in fertile soil
Tomorrow is when the trees emerge green shoots and buds in hand
But now is where time stands steady, slow, yet surging on
Creeping forward day to night, knowing that it's won