Horned Pout Leaping to Higher Consciousness

Ice Sculpture above Jenness Pond
CC Jean Stimmell: 3/6/16

Spray from waves on Jenness Pond

create an ice sculpture

which to my inner eye

looks like a horned pout
escaping her watery world
for a higher calling.

Zen Reflections at River's Edge

Zen Reflections at River's Edge
CC Jean Stimmell: 3/4/16

On this raw, snow-flurry day, 

Mother Nature gives us hope 

that spring will soon be here 

by showcasing exquisite Zen paintings 

along the banks of the Merrimack –
not of cherry blossoms
but ice crystals.

What Does a Petrified Turtle Symbolize?

Winter Turtle at Northwood Meadows Park
CC Jean Stimmell: 3/1/16

Talking to Turtle just as I found him – neither posed nor photoshopped –

basking on his favorite rock, though summer has long passed.

Oh Turtle, why do you stand frozen

above the ice-covered waters?

Why have not you made your seasonal return

to restore yourself in the warm, muddy depths?

What do you symbolize? What do you represent

in these perilous times of global upheaval

and climate distress?