WINTER'S TREE

Winter's tree
with limbs upstretched
in silent supplication,
So lonely
So naked
So barren
with lovely leaves long gone
and gnarls and knots exposed
for all to see.

Winter's tree
stands stark and gaunt
against a blustery sky,
More real
Than real
Should be,
as if nature were using
the surreal palette of
Salvador Dali.