-This poem reflects on a light autumn frost transforming an ordinary pasture fence before sunrise, then disappearing as sunlight, animals, and the warming field return the landscape to its familiar colors.
Before the sun has cleared the hill,
the fence is drawn in threads of white,
each twist of wire, each rusted barb
is edged with frost and morning light.
The pasture grass lies silvered flat,
the gate chain stiff against the post,
a rabbit passes through the weeds
and shakes the crystals from one stem.
Then sunlight reaches from the east,
the upper wire begins to shine;
small drops replace the feathered ice
and gather underneath each barb.
By noon, the fence is rust again,
the field returns to green and brown;
a heifer leans against the gate,
the final bead slips from the wire.