Mantle By David Roth ©14th December, 2004 I awoke today to a mantle of white Placed gently against my doorstop. With care and devotion Reminiscent of an offering To the Keeper of the Wind Lush and expansive, This mantle of white; A blanket of illusion Tucked in at the edges Hiding the wrinkled sheets Of the streets and sidewalks beneath And to gaze, however circumspectly At this cleverly deceptive mantle of white, Offered little insight To the secrets hidden in its folds. And I fear it will remain, This mantle of white, Until the cleansing brush of spring, Riding high on the winds of new life Sweeps it into oblivion For another year.