A Poem of Winter

Rosy cheeks, heavy clothing, runny noses
Hot chocolate and tea
Meals of soup and meat

Naked trees
Snow up to your knees
Smoke dancing out of chimneys

Sledding the parks
Skating the rinks
After play, warm hands in the sink


Frozen cars, frozen toes, frozen ponds 
Frozen hopes for heat  

“Only a few more months!” a woman squeaks

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back Home

I held my breath as the plane hovered over the runway, only to exhale when I felt and heard the tire hit the asphalt. My father and I high-fived. We were in the United States of America. We were home .  I became ecstatic entering the airport with all the signs reading in English. After two months in which I was constant dependent for translation, these signs filled me with triumph. I could resume being a completely independent, functional human being again!  I whispered a chant of the national anthem as we emerged from the airport out into the pouring rain. It was much warmer than Poland. If I’d been living in India instead of Poland for the last two months, I’d probably regard the pouring rain as a sign of bad luck for our return, but the constant rain in Poland that occurred no matter bliss or suffering taught me otherwise.  While sitting in a bus on the way home, gazing outside the windows that dripped with rain drops and watching the familiar landscape of the passing
Read more

Letter to My Thirteen Year Old Self

Dear Claire, Hi. I know there’s a lot going through your head right now and that there’s lots of people telling you a lot of different things, but just sit down and listen to me for a moment. You’re okay. Stop shaking. Breathe. Inhale, exhale. Three times. Deeply. It's going to be okay. I know your heart is eager for an explanation about what is going on. I’m here to tell you that you’re experiencing growing pains. Severe ones, but don’t worry. You’ll grow out of them just like your favorite navy polka dotted mini skirt. The pain your feeling is the realization that the world is scary. You have found that some people are mean and that life can be cruel. You are afraid. This paralyzing fright inside you needs to be let out, and the hospital gown you currently wear reflects this. Let me assure you, though, through this letter, that this fright does not mean the world is any less spectacularly beautiful, nor life is any less worth living. First, some advice: for the nex
Read more

Gray

It rains. It rains and rains and rains. And then, it rains more. The trees whistle with the wind, and the water pooling on the streets splash onto the sidewalks because of the passing cars. Umbrella covered people in rain boots infest the sidewalks. The hood of my coat shields the top half of my vision, so I am left to stare at the ground while walking.  The bus windows are fogged with condensation, and the bus is dark because outside is only pale, dark colors. People seem more irritable. Everyone just wants to be out of the rain, so they push and shove more often to run away from the gloom of outside.  It’s dark when I wake up. It’s getting dark when I start homework.  It’s gray. Always gray.  Rarely, the days are crisp and sunny like Massachusetts' October. Instead, the days are foggy, gray, and wet. I am forced to stand at least ten feet away from the streets while waiting to cross in order to ensure I won't be splashed by the passing cars.  But in this dark
Read more