Before the first snow, sky quiet, waiting,
a sudden conspiracy of ravens descend to
settle on a nearby oak, their hoarse cries
shredding silence, prophetic sentinels who
know what lies ahead after the diagnosis
we received today of memory ebbing like
tide though, unlike tide, never to return as
snow begins, slow feathered drifting, mute
weightless shroud soon to cover still-green
grass, brown brittle leaf, transforming
everything, what we see, what we no longer
see, but there is nothing to be done except
watch the ravens, one by one, lift heavy
wings, and disappear as snow, so beautiful,
continues falling . . .
Before/After
