Shift Change

A poem by Sr. Margaret

Shift Change

Stars blink their goodbyes

sinking into their blue-black homes

as they end their shift.

Sparrows and mourning doves arrive

warbling and whistling their praise

while my heart weaves its hymn.

Cardinals show scarlet robes against the snow,

pecking and picking thistle seeds,

fluttering to the black lace of the tree

Grateful for food and flight

they sing among the branches

like strings of a harp.

The snow knows leopard stretches

on the straw-colored grass

melting with the last ‘hooo” of the owl

The coyote howls its last hunt

crickets creep into silence.

The rooster on the far hill calls the day.

The lake shows its pale iced-glazed face

lonesome for honking geese,

and baby ducks rippling the water

in a soft massage.

I watch as the sun comes softly, slowly

With hope of warmth