This is for Poets United Midweek Motif – Color. It will also be posted for Open Link Night at dVerse Poets.
Faded Landscape
The second day of spring is
a faded black and white photograph.
Shades of grey, black, and white –
No red from the rising sun,
No yellow from the huge forsythia bush at the edge of the woods,
No green from the pines and cedars.
The light was softened, almost blurred.
Snow is falling,
silent and still is the air.
From down by the creek in one of the large oaks
a soft hooting broke the silence.
I stood in the cold and looked
at the trees and the snow that fell.
In the yard,
a Japanese plum tree blooms –
soft and barely pink.
copyright kanzensakura – not a black and white photo
kanzen sakura 
Mar 21, 2018 @ 20:17:26
Ah! Muffled, but gorgeous with life in the owl and plum. Very fine.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 00:00:57
I love the pink blossoms…….forsythia is my fave first bloom of spring…….which is late coming in the east, it seems.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 01:46:25
Snowy spring is sad. Ah where are the colors of life? Thank god for the owl and plum tree blooms. Beautiful Toni.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 02:54:35
A gentle poem, Toni, reminding us that spring comes slowly.. The owl is a beautiful touch.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 04:13:10
What a picture.. there is soft hope there!
Mar 22, 2018 @ 07:57:37
A vivid scene in black and white – and then that very faint pink is so exquisite and full of promise.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 12:35:41
On days like this it’s hard to tell, isn’t it? Wonderful work and photo.
Mar 22, 2018 @ 21:31:06
What a wonderfully muted picture we get here–beautiful writing!
Mar 22, 2018 @ 21:35:10
Thank you!
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Mar 22, 2018 @ 21:59:44
How distinctly and precisely you give us the images, moving through the landscape as would a doe searching for her fawn and at last we reach the moment and the subdued landscape gives us what we’re looking for – that new life, that Spring! Perfect!
Mar 23, 2018 @ 05:30:54
That looks so cold! Thank goodness for the soft brightness of the plum blossom 🙂
Mar 23, 2018 @ 07:25:50
A beautiful atmospheric image Toni, both in the photograph and in your words – as if you are guiding us through a gentle dream 💜 xxx
Mar 23, 2018 @ 09:22:03
The owl, the plum tree bring life to the faded landscape. Spring will show herself soon.
Anna :o]
Mar 23, 2018 @ 11:11:04
Beautiful descriptions of a colourless world. When will spring- proper visit you?
Mar 23, 2018 @ 11:37:21
Forsythia is my favorite bloom of spring… this poem is beyond beautiful!💜
Mar 23, 2018 @ 14:23:00
There is such sweetness here. I love the barely pink of the plum tree.
Mar 23, 2018 @ 15:08:16
Love how you paint as you would do it with ink… nature in grey wears paleness in the best way possible… somehow even the brightness is paled by the snow.
Mar 23, 2018 @ 21:26:43
Those gray mornings are beautiful but one years for color.
Mar 23, 2018 @ 21:28:24
Yes one does. But a tiny faint but if pink is there. Rarely does one see such a morning.
Mar 24, 2018 @ 04:45:11
Beautiful, Toni~ The second day of Spring was one of howling winds, bright sun but so cold you didn’t want to venture out. At least you had the comforting blanket of snow. Lovely, Toni, as always. Hugs.
Mar 24, 2018 @ 17:02:53
No colors of spring here yet…love the silence stillness and looking that blooms soft and barely pink ~
Mar 26, 2018 @ 22:46:29
kaykuala
Spring is bound to come. It is just by the corner (to be given a chance to take its time!) Beautiful take Toni!
Hank