Catherine Bussiere: Still

I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow
the first one this year
it is a cold morning
I dress warm and venture outside
it is sunny, crisp and still
while visiting last summer my cousin said to me how quiet it was here in the country
I live at the end of a dirt road surrounded by fields and woods
no traffic
I told her then this is nothing
you should come in the winter
one can appreciate silence at the end of a dirt road in the winter

I walk in my garden
I see a cabbage that escaped the harvest
This one is for the dear who will for sure find it in time this winter
a Christmas treat for my neighbor

I see the onion flower gone to seed
when spring comes I always find dill, parsley, and coriander popping everywhere

A little further my tall sunflowers are still standing
their dry leaves slightly oblique as if the wind froze them in that position

I walk to the pond, I walk by the patio
everything so still
dormant
the echoes of summer resting under a blanket of snow