Sonnet for January
Branches, vague and stark,
New trees staked against
The earth’s blizzard winds on
A winter’s frozen breast.
Streams, remote and aloof,
White strips of ice holding
Life beneath asleep in
A winter’s frozen breast.
Blasts of the arctic,
Life on hold, quiescent
Secret statuary on
A winter’s frozen breast.
Ordeals for the fearless
So full of life in spring,
Rendered silent by a pulse,
Frozen in a winter’s breast.
M.A. Hoffmann