This poem was written as an experiment of two writers, one living and one dead.  I edited and rewrote these exerpts as a poem from an eight-page unpublished essay “The Fourth Season” written by Jesse Stuart, who was one of America’s most prolific writers.  I named the poem “Winter Symphony.”  Stuart, wrote autobiographies, essays, novels, poetry, and short stories, and published over 60 books during his lifetime, but he loved being a poet and you can find poetry in any of his genres.  I found this essay while doing research for my book that will feature unpublished Stuart essays.  So here you go, a work by the former Guggenheim Scholar with my contributions.

I’d rather take a walk on a winter night than in any season
because I love to hear the loud and soft winds blowing
over the brown fallen leaves or snow-covered landscape.

The sounds of these winds can have any background
because all winter settings have a different beauty,
quite different than any other season.

I love to sit on a stone or log on a snow-covered hillside
or in a deep dark valley and listen to the music of the wind
performed by Mother Nature’s magnificent orchestra.

This winter landscape is set as nature’s backdrop for a concert
with the moon and stars as spotlights shining on the stage
where one could write a poetic review for this grand symphony.