Toward morning while

          
                                           
                                         
still on my bed I began to feel unusually cold;
so I pulled the top fold of the comforter I was           
on/ off to the right and slipped beneath it and
pulled it back over me.                        
                                                
My bed, which is big enough for two sleepers,         
has two comforters on it and the mattress just
beneath them has a white fitted sheet on it.   
The bottom comforter's fold is on the left side
because I'd roast if I tried to sleep under three
comforter flaps.  To be clear, the left side is
the right side when one stands at the foot of  
my bed.  That is the side where, for a number  
of reasons, I get in and get out.             
                                                   
A couple minutes after 7 this morning I pulled
the drape cord--there is only one window in this   
room--and was greeted by patches of snow.  The   
sturdy bush continues to grow, become more green 
and less white since while new blossoms appear   
on it/ its blossoms have for the most part dis-
appeared.  In the distance is a tall tree that
still looks like a winter tree.  At its top was
a single silent crow.  In its silence it said to
me: I am your new Christmas angel.  Given the   
state of this union of states I live in, I was
reluctant to disagree.  In fact, I began to see
that crow as my nation's new national bird.    
Then a second crow alighted at the top about  
two feet to the west.  Together they reminded   
me of a chicken wishbone.  Some minutes later   
three more crows flew in beneath them, but did
not stay long.  Still, I heard no caw.  Then  
after more minutes, the crow that had been    
there when I opened the drapes/ flew off to  
the east, and soon the second crow flew off 
to the north and then to the west.             
                                             
                                               
                                              
                                              
                                                
                                           
kh00023