Predictions

The Farmers’ Almanac, unusually accurate,  

calls for a mild winter,

cold but above normal, snow, below normal,

except here, we know otherwise, we know the signs,

this warm November and the weeds up high,

the hornet’s nest, too, snow level,

and the woolly worms? more black than brown,

sure signs of winter’s cold and snow, nature knows;

but other signs point elsewhere,

as there was little fog in August;

the squirrels’ tails are scraggly and sparse

and few acorns to spare, the mice, too,

lean and quiet in the walls of home;

the fall colors are faded and mute

with ducks and geese hanging about,

in no rush to leave the lake, the fishing still good.

Nevertheless, what we do know for sure

is weather, predictably unpredictable,

as changing and fleeting as nature can be,

as nature is, keeping us guessing, looking

at the signs and making predictions as best we can,

readying ourselves still for the season ahead,

snow and cold, or not, in spite of signs,

readying ourselves for winter.