if you find Winter drafts bothersome
roll a towel and put it beneath the door
wedge it tight, do not let your fingers touch the cold
do not watch from dim hallway
darkness when light is extinguished
climbing in like stealthy mist
tainting your stillness with caressing poison
instead of dwelling on these things; lie comfortable in your quiet hour
a good book, a glass of wine, some soft music
pretend the ice at the door is not pressing harder
seeking entrance
nor the phone that never rings, suddenly lets shrill
voice pierce silence
do not answer if it persists, do not cradle it and listen
for the tone that will tell you coming pain
for the annual hour marked ever more
these things must stay behind smoked glass
they must be forgotten before they’re retained
forever
that day, that hour, that moment, altered eternal
and when you glance in the mirror
surprised at the grave dirt creasing your brow
when you stare at the blood on your hands
marking the fine lines like a tapestry
nothing will ever be the same afterward
so stay close to the fire, watch the flames devour
time, you, them, these things you thought permanant
fool
let the leaching of light spread soundless across
indigo skies broken with cloud
and birds, quivering in one straight line past horizon
if you can, go with them in your mind
if you cannot; then turn from that place
focus on wholeness
for soon, even as you close yourself tight
crushing eyes shut with ribboned terrors
glass will break, the gas will seep
and we shall again have our heads in ovens
just as our forefathers leave their white bones
scattered beneath opal moon
just as the fox
who caught in the snare
ponders whether he can live still
with one less foot.
Hi Candice, merry Christmas and happy New Year … I adore your poem and these lines were profoundly relatable
“ so stay close to the fire, watch the flames devour
time, you, them, these things you thought permanant
(fool)”
Snared we are
securely as the fox
obliged to ponder
if we dare
what to sacrifice
for the sake of
going on
one side of coin
the other engraved
the riddle of the Sphinx
Powerful.
What an apt image is that fox
love this very good xo
Very good!