winter

The trees show me their bare branches Gnarled, raw The cold bites through my resolve A crow’s caw Sounds in the pale blue above Love like winter Barren and biting But it will never splinter The frost in my chest Will it melt and let me rest? The world outside is so dark The last thing I want is a sense of hostility Instead, vitality In the beginning threads of spring

The boiling water rises Whistling of the kettle shrill My eye lies on the prize There will be an end to my chill Color blossoms in the mug Sumptuous stripes of steam Quickening the internal tug Put to my lips, a floral dream Soft, cushioned fields of lavender Against the rose’s cutting thorns I can’t turn back the earthly calendar And escape their mounting scorn There’s an urge in me to unwind