RIVERWOODS/TAMWORTH POEMS:The Woods in Winter

The Woods in Winter

When the snow blows up and sideways

And a white mist fills the air,

When spruces, pines and hemlocks

Have donned white winter wear,

When rocks in the mountain rivers

Are circled by collars of rime

And snow on the boulders’ shoulders

Wraps them in capes of ermine,

Then I must take to the woods,

Set my boots on snow-packed trails,

Follow the tracks of deer,

Coyotes and snowshoe hares,

Rejoice in the white open spaces,

Respond to the call of wild places.