The barn bears the weight
of the first heavy snow
without complaint.

White breath of cows
rises in the tie-up, a man
wearing a frayed winter jacket
reaches for his milking stool
in the dark.

The cows have gone into the ground,
and the man,
his wife beside him now.

A nuthatch droops
to the ground, feeding,
on sunflower seed and bits of bread
I scattered in the snow.

The cats doze near the stove.
They lift their heads
as the plow goes down the road,
making the house 
tremble as it passes.