Today's poem is The Coming of the Cold by Theodor Roethke, and you can read it here

The photo is a tree that stands in the centre of paved area where people gather to chat, close to a parade of shops, and overlooking a play park.  It was the stark, near bareness, of the branches that struck me.

And a prayer...

God who created all things,

Who grants the earth its winter rest.

To refresh,

To renew,

To re-create

Even when all seems dark, and stark, and devoid of life...

Grant us, too, the renewing of hope and the re-creation of joy.

Amen