Tina’s challenged us to show “cold” this week. I’ve lived in the Midwest my entire life except for some years in Colorado, so I’m not only used to the cold, but I really enjoy winter. As we’re moving to Arizona next spring, I plan to enjoy this last winter to the max.
However, we humans aren’t on the front line when it comes to the cold.
“Nothing burns like the cold.”
~George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Christmas disappeared today
D
O
W
N
into the maw of the truck
eating the set-out Christmas trees.
Arctic winds swept dry snow
into crunchy scallops
across equally crunchy yards.
A bush outside our window
scraped it in a manner worthy of Jack Nicholson
on a horror rampage.
Unprotected heads and hands
squandered heat
faster than a teen with Mom’s credit card.
Tea and coffee were copiously consumed,
furnaces struggled valiantly,
soups and stews bubbled,
and dreams of spring crept in unbidden.
From The Dryer
Embracing warm sheets
Hands gratefully soak up warmth
Outside snow glitters
The howling wind prowls outside the house tonight, maliciously rearranging the snow into drifts as it seeks weak spots for entry. Balked by thick curtains (shaken, not stirred) it insinuates its cold breath into cracks and crevices. Lying warmly swathed by blankets, I listen to its periodic, frustrated shrieks as it bangs against anything even a bit loose.
Earlier in the day, the wind grabbed the exhaust from the dryer, turning it into billows of steam, flinging it in all direction and lending a ghostly appearance to a nearby bush. With the proper ominous music, it would seem the perfect setting for a horror movie. But sans music, I curl contentedly under my pile of covers, set my book aside and fall instantly asleep.
This, that and the other thing 