A January Poem

Children sled in the park
on a no-school day;
a white, winter, jewel day.

Perched on a branch
a squirrel gnaws a chestnut;
scampering down again and again
she’ll burrow in the snow
for another, scattered by autumn raking.

A trellis, her ladder
her paws, mittened hands –
like school girls lifting crudely made snow balls
to their frozen faces
she cups the nut, gnashing her sharp teeth
into the meat,
shell bits descending

Her tail, now a scarf
flutters fringe around tiny ears;
Nut-nougat full,
her golden-orange fleece belly
blazes against the winter backdrop

Later, peeling a tangerine at the sink
Juice runs down my sleeve
Splashing squirrel-gold-orange
On snow-white porcelain.