A poem by Sanika Kiritharan

God it’s cold

I hear no bird song

nor see the trees,

once so thick 

with luscious leaves.

My fingers are fat

and numb with cold.

The light is gone,

and I am told

this is the end of days.

It all ends today! 

How can I

(how could I???)

possibly

clamber

back.

Icy pavement

stylish (impractical) shoes,

I will surely go smack-

against the pavement

shopping in tow,

oranges rolling,

down down

the way I came.

All shall be lost!

or perhaps

just my clementines

a low cost,

I guess,

to save my life this freezing

winter day. 

I glance up 

at the white horizon 

feel each flake of snow

seek out and sizzle 

against the small slits of my bare skin

and I clench my fingers tight.

Brave this bitter breeze

and the maniacal whistle of the trees

and I do what cannot be done 

I win this blasted fight.

Once returned to the warm embrace

of my fire-lit home,

forehead against heater,

hot chocolate simmering on stove,

family babbling,

behind me

I gaze at the hushed, 

blanketed world out there and remark,

how I love Winter, somehow.