Winter Woods

ZIGZAG branches darkly traced
On a chilly and ashen sky;
Puffs of powdery snow displaced
When the winds go by.

Sudden voices in the air,—
They are crooning a tale of woe,
And my heart is wooed to share
The sadness of the snow.

Stillness in the naked woods,
Save the click of a twig that breaks;
In these dim white solitudes,
Nothing living wakes ; —

Nothing, but a wandering bird,
Which has never a song to sing, —
To my heart a whispered word
And a dream of spring !