Mingo Swamp’s Winter Art Show

                                       (where poetry and photography say hello)

Nature forms images with ice at the edge of Mingo Swamp.
When the winter sun weaves through Cypress and Hickory,
I layer warm clothes, tuck in a thermos and camera
To spend an hour in Nature’s ephemeral ice show.
Bright white patches of ice, like crumpled fist-thrown paper,
Sit on the forest floor at the base of dried Crownbeard.
Threading through leaf litter,
stopping to remove a misplaced twig,
I’m in Her gallery:
angel wings, winking owl,
rosebud, bow, ribbon candy,
donut, cup and saucer,
question mark, and heart.
Pictures must be taken, not the time to tarry.
Frozen sculptures soften in the sun;
Gallery closes when the ice melts.

ptc