Illuminated

Cool hands
Span the pale latitude
Of back
Ink beneath them
‘Dying to tell a story’

Snow buries
The pain beneath
A winter’s pledge
Of truth’s safekeeping
Meanwhile

Trust forms
Simultaneous
As complex
As frost’s beginnings
Unsure

A heater rumbling
To ignition
Mimics
The persistent sound
Of resolute defenses

Undermined by
Warm breath
Beneath deep blankets
Mouthing words of
Fate

To a soul resisting.
Resilient fear
Withstanding
Recollection vivid
Of oaths reneged upon

Makes it hard to swallow
But hope catches
In cautious difference
For plans
Not yet carried out.

HW 02.24.13