ON A GRAY DAY

1.
Crows circle,
coyotes skulk
and a Red Tail watches

on a bare oak branch
for a ground squirrel
to wake and warm

atop a rock at dawn.
Everybody’s hungry
in February.

2.
Cold marble ceiling,
precursor to another
stream of storms predicted

to test the levees,
erase the landscapes
of man’s mistakes,

but likely missing
a golden opportunity
for humanity.

3.
The imbalanced weight
of man’s achievements
and herded hostilities

wobbles the planet’s
tipsy equilibrium
between war and peace,

the struggle for power
over Nature
to right herself.