Leaves in the water,
hide the fish
hide the turtles
tell us how hard it rained last night,
the trees now nearly bare,
even in South Carolina,
where we have change of seasons,
but not ice and snow,
they shed their clothes without shame,
stand naked in the cold
will don new outfits in the Spring.
Wintry day,
South Carolina,
Gray skies and falling rain,
More leaves on the ground than on the trees,
branches glisten orange and red,
Stumps of some cut off just below
where Helene broke off the rest,
Loplolly pines stand above, swaying in the breeze,
Birds up there are unaware of all of us below,
warm at 65 degrees, one can enjoy
the screened-in porch, with a jacket on,
I think of many winters past,
snow and ice that does not melt,
snow piled into mountains
children try to climb,
but now we’re here,
in South Carolina,
Wintry days of falling rain,
sitting on my back porch
hearing it hit my window pane,
watching squirrels, deer and birds,
who don’t know how very lucky they are
to be southern.
cfblack, 12-11-24
Doctor Grandma 