Hail, lady Moon, ringed with frost’s annulet,
gleaming off drifts of first snow on bare earth.
Snakes and salamanders have hid their girth;
trout seek greater depths in their element.
One lonely spider strings her filament
in lea of rocks where her eggs await birth.
Chipmunk gambles close to his front door’s garth;
his stone house wards him like an amulet
against talon and claw, beak, tooth and paw.
Sudden amazement as wandering bear
seeks, plantigrade, through orchard for last fruit.
Though drained from autumn, shall he obey law
to take rest, and dream? Field mice eat a share
of sweetness stored in tuber, seed and root.
