dreary winter day
cocooned in a gray muffler
the junco and me
It takes a moment to realize that the junco’s “muffler” is part of its distinctive plumage. Which raises an interesting question about how we read the poem. Is the poet wearing a gray muffler, or is her muffler the “dreary winter day“ that envelopes both her and the bird? Either way, the sympathy we feel between the poet and her avian companion conveys a feeling of kinship and emotional warmth during a cold and inhospitable time of year.
—Clark Strand