One January Day Poem by Bill Galvin

A cold chill can surely bones and body pervade;
And a soul's spirit can be stifled and left waylaid…
The mind can wander off to find some distant worry,
But then you look outside and see a gentle snow flurry.

Each flake floats and lifts as if with no earthly intent;
Each mystical piece a part of some heavenly descent;
Each falls as if grudgingly not wanting flight to end…
Down a bit, then sideways, for its journey to extend.

Then shows the brilliant scarlet of winter's cardinal bird,
As he sets onto a perch, attracting our dormant eye;
And he brightens a mood that's been otherwise blurred,
Contrasting leafless trees and a grayed-out sky.

A northern flicker pecks at crevices in the tree bark;
Chickadees flit through branches while making remark;
Then a warm sun peeks out through the cold winter cloud,
And a voice within a soul says no sorrows allowed.

There's no need to wonder what it could all mean…
No need for worry, no need to define, nor to care…
To be witness to this wondrous woodland scene
Is to hear God remind us this would always be there.

To witness works of Nature like this blending together,
Working within the vagaries of time and of weather…
Though life and love may ever be austere or spare,
One takes comfort in knowing this will always be there.

No words can convey, nor memory truly archive
This present moment, the treasure found in being alive…
A day once felt gray through a window thought stark and bare,
But peace, warmth and contentment can be found out there.


January 15,2019