snow fort
anticipation grows
I hold the packed snow

driving down the road
dad tells me
how to use my left foot

her salt stained Uggs
branding the fresh snow
on the bitter quad

I wade into the ocean
water climbs to my waist
my voice climbs octaves

christmas lights
the house transforms
with every twinkle

footprints in the snow
I follow
to find her love

make a cold cave
add a window
roof collapses

warm drink
fireplace
glad to be home

heart too cold
to have someone
to warm my hands

deer season
cold sting of the ladder
on my fingertips

listen to him dress
listen to him leave
gone for good

stalactites of ice
looming overhead
the cold air

tie blankets
piled on pillows
somehow still cold

it's too cold
for ice cream
said the guy taking my order

soaked socks
I jog the bases
game one down

wet socks
you cannot escape
winter's wrath

keep your hands on the reigns or the horse might bow

sunrise
over a dewy field
we prepare for battle

my drunk friend skips
outside naked
careless of frostbite

a midnight kiss
just another year
like the one before

mother's chair
a blue jay holds
on in place

little fingers clinging to
hot chocolate
the snow day is over

only child
sorority
sister forever

mom softly snores
worksheets and projects
cover the table

the sun falls
behind the creek
I let go of his hand

the moonlight shines bright
overhead one calls to me
whispering the wind

the cardinal perches
on the snowy branch
a pop of color

birdbath
covered with ice
no birds in sight

saddle bags
     packed and ready
a new sunset

another rep
fweat drips, faucet status
keep trying to get better

at the rusty pump
it takes a little less time
twenty dollars lost

icicles dangle
from a snow covered roof
all silent

snow and icy winds
children pray
to stay home

a hug goodbye
in the rain
time stops

box o chocolate
you never know
what you will get

magazine open
his eyes 
read the room

a doctor smiles
just nine more months

waking up
to a fresh start
night snow

smelling of rain
ten more minutes
watch it roll in

relentless force
white-capped rapids
trying to stay above the surface

October frost—
the beginning
of business

a crush on a boy
on a tractor
age: seven

coffee shop on a cold December night
this is home

turning upsidown
the wallet dumps change
into a drawer

he fumbles with buttons
his tie out of sorts
his first time out

Sunday night
a stack of books
crap

iced over beard
rabbit fur hat
plowing the drive

snow on my pants
I brush it off
into my boot

staring into a coffee cup
we tried
it isn’t the same

new style and smell
another girl
missing my wife

solitaire rotating
morphine
holding hands

she stands in line
one last look
goodbye, dad

hospice nurse has
given up
sleeping in another room
waiting

wind turns to words as our words are lost in wind

layer on layer
A Christmas Story Randy
crosses campus

a fat pigeon
stabs at the cookie crumbs
the rest get none

hustling across campus
puffy coats and
rosy cheeks

ten trees all in a row
landmarks
for him