January Thaw

The trees stand naked
each small twig exposed.
The woods are open
for all to see, an x-ray
of its bones.

There are deer running,
jumping over logs; a sight one
never sees when the trees
are clothed.

January thaw clears the snow
leaving the ground open
with its dead wood and vines,
imperfections one might see
that clothing covers over.

There is beauty in its bareness
with all its scars, trees fallen by wind
or split with lightning bolts, hollowed
by the rot of time; homes
for small animals who burrow there.

Enjoy it for it doesn’t last.
Winter brings a cover of snow again
and Spring brings the clothing back
covering up that beauty of yearly wear.

Paul J. Wolf