The dryer makes a noise
Like crickets.
I used to loathe that
Incessant sound.
But the frost on my bones.
I ache
To hear them again.
Tag Archives: winter
Ottawa, from the back of a cab
Canal Rideau had frozen over
By January fourth.
The Zamboni took a stroll
On the new white avenue;
Later, the hearty winterlings
Came out in skates
And swayed to class that way.
Such are the people of Ottawa
That an old man with his walker
Skated down the canal as well.
Quiet Down, Look Outside
Old Man Snow speaks soft and low;
Mostly though he speaks with deeds;
He asked the Children of the Earth
To hush their mirth and it was worth
It just to watch him sew his seeds.
I Had Forgotten
Tipping my hat to modern invention,
I lived weeks in my home, in suspension-
A sweet music box, inside a snow globe –
With my coffee, cigarettes, and a robe.
Outside my window, winter was dancing
A waltz that spun, receding, advancing;
But each time I’d step outside my door
I’d ache and retreat, bitter and sore.
Rubbing my temples and grinding my teeth,
I’d shut out the grey man, rattling the wreath-
And when the snow fell, predictably late,
I slunk to my desk; a wretch-ed stalemate.
Then when I knew I could not linger more
I dressed and pressed outside my front door;
Unaware of despair beneath layers of cotton
Again I loved the glow of the snow I’d forgotten.
NYE
The door of the liquor shop closed hastily behind me
Echoed by the ringing of a tiny bell
And as I stood in the street, in my smart wool coat,
The dark deepened shade by shade
And my existential crisis quickened its pace –
Wrapped in a paper bag, and capped in a bottle of rye.
The cars in the lot were like too many cicadas
Trapped in a glass jar, buzzing to and fro –
Everyone’s trying to get back to their nest
To nurse their vodka, gin, and lies.
prince nothing 