These short cold days,
the sun, even when it does come out
doesn’t have much time
to melt the ice, to warm the air,
and while it can land steady
on the south slope,
it only glances down the north,
leaving long shadows behind short stubble,
unable to dry the wood
dampened by fog and frost

This time of year
we fall short of our goals,
leave the night watch
to the cold stars,
start up next day
as slow as the sun does,
move through our project the same.

©Wendy Mulhern
December 3, 2020