IN WIRY WINTER
The shadow of a bird
upon the yard upon
a house: it's gone.
Through a pane a
beam like a warm hand
laid upon an arm.
A thin shell, trans-
parent, blue: the
atmosphere in which
to swim. Burr. A
cold plunge. The bird
is back. All the same,
to swim, plunging
upward, arms as wings,
into calm cold. Warm
within the act,
treading air, a
shadow on the yard.
Or floating, gliding.
a shadow on the roofs
and drives, in action
warm, the shadow cold
but brief. To swim
in air. No. Not in
this wiry winter air.
A beam comes in the
glass, a hand to
warm an arm. A hand
upon the glass
finds it a kind
of ice. The shadow
of a bird less cold.
- James
Schuyler (1970)