colder

never have I seen such a waste of light
honey creased with maple shadows
winds and streets in intermittent stasis
denuded trees poising filigree branches

and this invasion of stray felines
furred with amber leaves
purring at my feet
marking territories for the coming frost

oh winter is rustling its signs
just here, before skeptical eyes
the rime impressions of my footprints
glimmer underneath the first snow squall

(\"Frost and Foliage\" anthology, The Ontario Poetry Society, 2009)