By Julie Flanders
I was born in the snow; it is what I love
It is what I know
We have many names for ice
And for moments
You will never think twice about
I know how to love the cold—do you?
Fifty words, and I’m still counting
The ways to name the snowdrifts
Mounting to form this luminous blanket of white
Covering and revealing the barbed light of winter
We are
A tiny sliver of life pulsing
On a knife of crystal and ice
We sparkle and imagine that we matter
And then we do
We matter to each other
Do I matter to you?
Will you lie with me in this dream?
Somewhere between outer space
And a mountain of ice cream
We could lie in the fractals
That blow sugar over everything
And I will make you warm
Because I know how
To do what is not allowed in less beautiful places
I know that when winter erases the landscape
We will appear here in a new light
As closeness replaces our fear
And invites us into an utter cloud of white
Where we are humbled
To see the dust of the night
Will you lie with me in this cloud?
Somewhere between inner calm
And screaming out loud
We could lie here
And the cold will bring
Sweetness in the powder
That blows completeness
Into everything
Come
Learn to love the snow
I will teach you
To kiss
Like an Eskimo
Photo by Paul Itkin
October Process 