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trudging through man-made canyons
we slough our way through the piled snow onward to the winter park we've an urgent task we're feeding the hungry its slow going in places the paths are unclear we're blazing trails like pioneers onward to the winter park the sky, the ground all one color of white abounds torrents of white whisked by wind-- the brisk easterlies the guests bustle in impatient and jostling we reach into our bags of plenty the feasting shall commence in the winter park scattering dried corn, sunnies, muesli any unsweetened stale cereal and bread becomes filling feed they gather en masse here in the winter park crows, squirrels geese, gulls jays, sparrows chickadees and mallard ducks doddering pigeons side-stepping high they linger at the fringe catch the pieces of food on the fly eating what's caught up in the gusts of wind we smile at all those who seem snowed-in here in the winter park high in a frosted ancient elm a shy cardinal watches and waits on an outer limb the albino squirrel chatters lingers and hesitates she's nearly invisible in all the white she'll wait until most have moved to another feeding site then venture down into winter park the doddering pigeons catch the eye of a golden retriever galloping by her name is Happy she bounds through the drifts tongue lolling open mouthed scooping through the drifts she barks in excitement as all the creatures temporarily scatter skyward, tree-ward and we laugh at the commotion she makes like it was a gift they will all return once she moves on with her old man Sam in the winter park the animals return again we are surrounded the bags are still full the bounty is abounding the animals have a sixth sense about this to us its astounding how they seem to know or how maybe they read our minds and are used to our kind and our kindness the heavy snows each year only help to remind us of the happy task ahead of sharing with all creatures hungry great and small here in the winter park. LEGAL COPYRIGHT FOR THIS WORK December 15 2017 10:20am PST TIME/DATE STAMPED AND ALSO FOR THIS WRITER MELISSA A HOWELLS AND ALSO FOR THIS LEGALLY COPYRIGHTED SITE TITLE; MELOO STRAIGHT FROM HER TILT-A-WORLD WHICH IS EXACTLY WHERE THIS CAME FROM... LORING PARK IN MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA OUR VERY OWN 'WINTER PARK.' written as remembered in 2001 and also written directly to the page. Thank you for reading and reminiscing. Vote for this poem |
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