My pond has lost 

its sparkle under 

this flat lead sky, 

between dull hills 

laden with snow 

drifts, negative 

shadows that cover 

dark hopes and nowhere

left to go when 

wind drops below 

and I stare through 

my gray hopes

for one more spring 

that lifts brilliant 

red, yellow, blue. 

---

Richard Dinges, Jr. works on his homestead beside a pond, surrounded by trees and grassland, with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and five chickens. Green Hills Literary Lantern, North Dakota Quarterly, Studio One, Rockford Review, and Spadina Literary Review most recently accepted his poems for their publications.