Winter Finally Arrives

It was god awful cold
(what God has to do with awful, I do not know),

I wake up chilled,

It is hard to shake it off,

so I prepare a soup…

hearty, full of flavor
from frozen Thanksgiving’s turkey carcass
and frozen chicken stock
and frozen turkey stock.
The pot begins to boil and I turn it to a simmer.
It will keep until I return.

Tap, tap, tap goes my cane on the sidewalk.

There is no breeze,

so my many layers keeps me warm.

I hollow creak on boards (from the bridge we will not say)

And an echoing tap, tap, tap of my cane on the strong planks.

Yesterday, nothing to do with winter,

A drill and a grind of a dentist in my mouth,
brought back unremembered terror
from an operation so long ago.
It was remembered deep in my soul,
The drill and the crack of bone,
And the dentist saw I was struggling
and asked continually if I was okay.
I was, I would reply
And I was, really
For I knew it was but a remembrance of a terror long ago,
so it seems,
Tho the aftermath I still feel.

I feel the cold today,

but it is January and we have been fortunate.

The frost of Christmas (?),

That should have been on Halloween (wait, there was snow then).

I remain confused about what has transpired with the weather,

But it has been mild,

And I still had oregano from my garden

and chives

and cabbage leaves

but no more

for this is the first day of true cold

and winter has finally arrived