"Witchita Winters" by Avereigh Watson
The neighborhood pond was a frozen lake
Like a chocolate sheet cake glazed
Too early out of the oven,
So sweet. We would drink
The winter water pooled above the ice
And pretend we didn't’t feel the grime coat
Our tongues and grit our teeth.
Snow was full of endless possibilities,
Frosted thin over the lawn.
We scraped flakes together
to make ourselves a brother,
Smaller than us, with spare buttons
Sinking through his head.
It wasn't as easy as cartoons made it:
Frosty and Frankenstein were both
Far more alive than our watery friend.
It left us with only sugar and spice to play with.
Like a cinnamon river too bitter
Without a sugar cube sailboat
Some things are simply better stuck together.
Like three angels on the ground,
Close enough to brush wings with enough sunlight.
They might dust the back of your clothes
And seep through socks,
but the numbness won’t come
because there is too much warmth
Radiating from the heart with this
Convection kind of love.