December 2020
June Crawford Sanders
juneinca@aol.com
Bio Note: I live in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas in Northern California where I watch birds and clouds. My poems have been published in What the Elephant Said to the Peacock by Dempsey and Windle, UK, a Haiku Society of America Member Anthology, and in Eureka!, a tiny Poems-For-All book published by Robert Hansen, San Diego. The Lassen County Times and Lake Tahoe Ski magazine have published my wildlife and landscape photography.

The Light Fantastic

“In Cameroon,” illustrator Trina Schart wrote, 
“silica in the air appears like glitter, causing
everything to reverberate with color and light.” 
 
One sub-zero day in Rock Springs 
Wyoming we watched shimmering 
ice crystals suspended in mid-air 
as far as we could see. Here in 
the Sierras on clear cold days sunlight 
filters thru snowdrifts emerging
in shadows not dark, but ice-blue,
and at night, lantern, carlight, or
moonlight can set the snow sparkling
like pave' diamonds or druzy quartz.

Minus 13

Watching a coyote walk on water,
crossing a frozen creek, young grandson 
whispers, “Ah, the second coming of coyote”.

Not Grimm

I'm no princess but there's this one hill 
on the way to my house that when 
it snows then melts then refreezes 
is as smooth as the fairy tale glass 
mountain which was said to be 
as smooth as ice and I'm not sure 
a prince himself could ride up 
even if I threw three golden apples 
but if he did we sure could 
have fun sledding back down.
©2020 June Crawford Sanders
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the author (email address above) to tell him or her. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is the beginning of community at Verse Virtual. It is very important. -JL