First Snow Sonnet

 

And the world is sugared, softened

down & battened in. The snow a saucy

mistress touching every twig & every

trim. Nothing prim or proper to divulge—

staying in means fireheat & yokey eggs,

legs piled on each other’s legs. Aloe

plants abound indoors, spread

their prickled  fingers wide, keep

their soothing goo inside themselves.

A chicken’s feet can freeze on ground

like this, she’ll lose her beak-picked

way. Inside the house, two lives can stay

preserved like bees in comb, can buzz

around each other in a home.