Winter's Call

The winter winds whip the frosted trees
Resembling a winter wonderland.
In stiffened splendour the naked trees stand,
Surrounded by ice-coated reed beds.
Wetlands subdued by winters’ pall,
Ice crackles on the blacked pond.
Crows squawk, awakened by dawn.
A lone goose echoes a haunting call.
Soundless on tiny swift feet,
A whitetail deer stirs by the edge of a tree.
Head raised she pauses to see,
If she should stay or retreat.
Desiring a drink from the pond
She cautiously ambles to the spot,
Where she often drank when it was hot.
She stops and looks just beyond,
The place where I am quietly observing.
She takes a drink from the frozen pond’s border.
The lone goose honks out an "escape now order",
And the deer swiftly flees unswerving.
The goose pauses by the pond’s icy shelf,
Looking very pleased with himself.