And the first deep cold
This year came
Before the lawn chairs
Were inside
The old brown shed.

The fall leaves
Bright red and yellow
Froze in mats
Unraked and unbagged
Under the thick snow.

The bird bath
Cracked and the hoses
Split from ice
Expanding cruelly
Relentlessly.

Will my clear
Procrastination
Be punished
All winter long or
Will a warm week
Bring forgiveness?

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, November 13, 2013