The Changing Sky

The sky went from blue gray to gray
not a big change really
but a subtle change
that turned the hillside back ten more years

This morning it was white and brown
those clumps of soft furze
against the snow

You could feel the crows hidden
on their branches
beneath the intermittent sun

But now I think of budding childhood
when the idea of sledding
was more fun than the sledding itself

To walk along the treeline
inhaling the fresh cold air
arms open to tomorrow

That magical grayness
alive in the crunch of snow
beneath my feet