Cold scent of a clear winter night,
Jack rabbit hides under shadowy sagebrush.
Spare light from far off porches and a fingernail moon
reflects on frost coated ground.
A dog's bark in the distance, echoes across the rocky gully.
Orion shimmers in the East, his nebula like a piece of white down,
floating between his knees.
Frosty air chills the inside of my nose.
I snuggle my ears down into my coat,
and wish those warm gloves weren't lost.
I feel the cold air in my lungs and taste it's icy flavor.
Each step that crunches on frozen grains of decomposed granite,
up a steep quiet road,
Brings me closer to warmth, smiling eyes and a hot mug of comfort.