Spring Thaw

let it all melt

may it not snow again for 1000 days

I take it all back

what I said last November about cleansings and blessings 

I lied

believe me I’m as surprised as you

I should be banished from these mountains for uttering such blasphemy 

though this current winter has had its moments, I’ll admit.

small children ski their first slope

buses filled with hopeful skiers 

an ‘I’m-so-lucky three-day weekend,’

depart with breathy memory of air and evergreens

I bet you thought even the booze tasted better.

re-entry to your suburbs and cities will be a total drag 

though you’re welcome to return.

but me? 

I’m done

these past virusy months I watched snows fall from a tedious gray 

the things I thought I loved?

jotul warmth

reading 

petting a cat

holing up. 

cooking stew. 

baking cookies

I never want to taste a winter stew again, I see no reason for parsnips 

I will leave the baking to other women

and practice being a woman in my own way. 

honesty

a sigh of relief

sun shadows trail across my hands

eyes adapt to February brightness

Vermont - I abide 

but I haven’t changed my mind

may it all melt