By Charles Pierre:
Speck
When the blizzard passed,
a holly amid ocean dunes
shook in the March wind,
as mounds of snow
slid from its peak
in a silent rush,
exposing a branch
where one red berry,
shriveled and pitted
in spots, yet whole,
clings to its stem —
the only speck of color
on this stark white shore,
edged with ashen surf.
RENEE OLSTEAD: