This Winters Day for The Magic of Love--(Manuel de Falla “El Amor Brujo”)

Some tardy leaves swirl
across the top
of a thin snow
Knuckles of the apple tree
can be seen wishing
a warm palm
would be welcoming
A small clutch of sparrows
circles concrete
under a roof
more protective
of a black car
than their anxious circus

Is there some kind of seed
upon this barren shelf
of an open air freezer
It's hard to tell
as some move in and out
under a sculpted evergreen
or in search of something
beneath the apple
though these singular hoppers
refuse to stay
where there is nothing
Though there is no sun
it seems too bright too cold
to leave the curtain open

Manual de Falla
wrote this music
for the warmth of Andalusia
We could use a Ritual Fire Dance
today in Iowa.
We wonder which of these birds
are in the passionate flame
behind this libretto
then
suddenly
a Scarlet Tanager
which doesn't seem to belong here
at this time of year
arcs by the neighbor's storage shed
This is the misplaced fire of winter
that dodges snowflakes
as easily as the magic of love
slips between the notes of music



Barry G. Wick