No Anchor For Rancour

Icicles hung from the roof 
like translucent fingers 
Clawing towards the ground 
While behind the eaves, 
She brushed her plain brown hair 
Tired gray eyes in the mirror, 
Discolored around the fringe 

And gravity pulled at the frown
Like it did everything else 

She was one of many, 
A soul, a body
With all the glitter rubbed away 
Winter breathed out its discontent 
A heaving sigh that scattered leaves
Over mailboxes, churches, graveyards

You can lose yourself in those fields out there
Mired in snow, as countless as crows 
As tin men, as a brick in the wall 

And when three young girls, 
All smiles and apple cheeks and roses
Walked by her window, she cast those grey eyes down 
From above— her jaw nutcracker clenched
New England January froze her eyes 
A hand clenched and unclenched
at their sparkly laughter 
The brush rattled to the floor

As the girls disappeared from her line of sight 
She was already a thousand miles away 
Up into the cirrus clouds,
Each inch colder than the last
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

Poem

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Dietrich Avatar
August 30, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Wow. So amazing. Just happened up on an old comment of yours to me and came to see you last posted two years ago. I sure do hope you are ok
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