Winter Break

It's definitely still winter in the north country. The windchill no longer reaches -50F but it continues to register below zero on days even with only a mild breeze. And snow remains in the forecast.



Winter Break


A skyline with vapor plumes,
columned and Grecian white,
attracts no tourists toting Nikons
to film the absence of drift.

Rather, those of us bundled
against February's pillars
weigh the morning stillness,
mark the blessed lack of windchill.

Not quite the same as ambling
in strappy shoes
surveying cerulean seas,
but, for today, close enough.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor