Cold

I take no inspiration
from this weather
as I do my morning chores.
It's as if the world
has been stunned into silence.
None of the neighbors' dogs
cares to hazard a bark
as mine follows me silently
along the fence line,
forgetting her Frisbee
in the snow.
The chickens coo softly
when I feed them, not wanting
to venture out of their coop.
Even Bruce's rooster
across the road
is quiet in the early light.
The sound of ice
cracking under my feet
is a frigid muse indeed.

-vh