The holly and the ivy
Wind together, forever,
In the carol,
‘With the rising of the sun and the running of the deer.’
And a winter walk early early one frosty morning
When, after seeming weeks of rain
The cold snap brought a heavy frost.
The dog and I wound our way through icy woods
In utter stillness, save the occasional tick of a falling leaf,
Passing under skeletal trees
Muscled with deep dark green ivy.
We rounded a bend
And hooves cracked into the silence,
Clattering away from the path –
An animal wraith skimming fast and long
As the low sun peeped over the boundary wall.
Ivy winding into song.
Jo Hansen 