The Wisdom of Winter

The Wisdom of Winter

Who decided Winter
was the season of death and decline?
I’d have to disagree. 
It seems we feel more comfortable
when trees are clothed in leaves.
We view the loss of cover
with nakedness and shame.
I see Winter as truth and wisdom.
The mask is removed. 
We now can see
ourselves, our lives,
with unadorned clarity.

The invisible branches
that form our familial bonds,
will no longer be hidden
by lies and deceit.
Thoughtless words litter the ground,
ready to be blown away,
bagged, ground up,
and left for compost
to inspire more growth
or burned, sending false utterances
along with the smoke,
to be inhaled by the heavens.

Meanwhile, we stand in clusters,
aware of our nakedness, shaking
with cold and dread, and finally we see
the wisdom of Winter. 
It is not the death of man that we fear,
it is the death of deception
and the chilly whispers of truth
that blow through our bare branches.
We fear being exposed,
and so we brace ourselves ‘til Spring,
writing of the beauty and promise
of new growth and life, while in reality

we breathe a sigh of relief
that we are no longer naked.


SWPoet