the longest night
a snow-covered pine
bends toward earth

shortest day —
all of the yellow
beaten out of eggs

Christmas Eve —
my children pretend
to snore

morning twilight
stars fade
but the cardinal . . .

the bite of radish
in the dinner salad —
year’s end

the shortest day —
an orange traffic cone
where the oak stood

first snow man
his nose lost to
a passing horse

morning light . . .
the curtain edges
darken

New Year’s Eve —
a man digging a pit
strikes his shadow

New Year’s Day
three fancy toothpicks
for the avocado pit