Mid-winter but the day
is warm and rainy
almost sultry
here to tease us
with a dream
of spring

At Gilbert Creek
the willows have
begun to bud
launching their catkins
in anticipation

The streamside alders
reach their thick black trunks
upwards some sixty feet
or more to where they branch
into a leafless canopy

The water rushing past
has long since
washed away the soil
exposing roots
that writhe around the base
like a great nest of snakes

The ground is strewn
with alder leaves an inch
or two of wet brown carpet
covering the grass

The creek
a muddy brown
with streaks of white
is loud as if announcing
its newly enhanced
position in the world

The dogs
delighted to be loose
from our small yard
explore the creekside
sniffing here and there
in search of mice

And I too
glad for this free hour
feel how the weather
in my soul
has found reflection
in the overcast
the falling rain
the many subtle
harbingers of spring