Winter

The season when my breath

burns when I shut the door behind me

and the patched-up cracks in asphalt

become white and visible and 

chewed up by plows

Like divisions in friendships.

When the vicious wind finds 

every break in my armor of a hat and gloves

and finds a way through the fluffy down jacket 

to the bare skin far beneath

The season when the wind nips at my bare cheeks,

adding a layer of natures’ blush.

And my eyes sparkle to reflect

the smooth, glittering ice 

or my happiness,

I do not know. 

But I do know that snow covers the brown drab 

Of the dead trees

Reminding me that I should not just anticipate what is to come

But appreciate the beauty of the current season of my life

And the memories I’m making

With my childhood friends 

Before we go to different colleges

I lay the new memories on top

And side by side the old

Appreciating the rich tapestry we have created.

And I hope that the same ice crystals 

That descend upon my car windows in the dark early mornings

Find, too, my memories and preserve them forever until

A necessary blast of warmth pours them back, 

In vivid color, into my heart

And so, despite the ugly snow thick with sand

And the trash left behind when by the snow melts in shiny rivulets,

I know that from the perspective of memory

I will remember the strained connections

As learning experiences

The slightly smoldering bridges

As necessary walkways made better by those I walked them with

And the winter as a perpetually snowy picture

All the drab hidden by the perfect white powder.