WHITE WOMAN OF WINTER
Last night, the clouds started forming
and the temperature kept dropping.
When morning came,
she took a deep breath
and blew all the clouds apart on the exhale…
all their tiny fragments fell upon earth
like frozen stars.
We stayed inside under blankets
and listened to the pieces of
soft
exhausted
sky
who had been hovering quietly above us
all this time,
finally let go…
and now she is falling upon our windows
in sheets;
she keeps on coming.
In a world that won’t stop for anything,
she slows us down—this
white
woman
of winter.
And although some say
they can’t wait for spring,
I feel safe beneath the weight of her.
Sometimes I bless her for keeping us inside
(she is forever my excuse to stay here,
under blankets).
Once in a while we crack open the door
to tell each other how much she has grown
in inches.
But tomorrow, I know,
she will stop
(as she always does),
and I will go out walking in her aftermath.
And since all the clouds
have fallen to the ground,
the sky will be the most clear beautiful blue…
and with every step of my trudging boots,
I will break open
the crust
of
her.
______
- From my poetry book, “Thaw" Read more & purchase here. 
