Christmas Spirit on a Winter's Day

A poem by A.R. Ammons

CLARIFICATIONS

The crows, mingled
powder white,

arrive floundering
through the

heavy snowfall:
they land ruffling

stark black
on the spruce boughs and

chisel the neighborhood
sharp with their cries.

A poem for a Solstice evening

Winter has withered everything
in this cold mountain place
dignity is in
its desolation now, and beauty
in the cold clarity of its moon.

                       - Saigyo