There is radiance
Caught in these drifts
Of a snow which seems
Never melting
By the afternoon sun
Feeling warmer
While reflections gleam
Over ice –

Solid tonight
Though we wait
Seeking dreams less cold
That remember
Our childhood wish
Merely frozen
Until days too long
Nearly pass

When lunch includes
Steaming mugs
Still chipped from use
Being clumsy
Whose homemade meal
Always lingers
Like such comfort tastes
Bittersweet,

Where grilled cheese sits
On your desk
Or her TV plays
Silly sitcoms
Since mom cooked hope
More delicious
Than Spring’s new warmth
Growing stale.

This season builds
Bigger mounds
With dangerous banks
Blocking traffic
Down one-way streets
Getting older
Until icy chunks
Reappear,

Singing songs
Each winter prefers
Pushing one last breath
Blowing chances
Some fantasies lived
Took for granted
Only sleeping again
Will allow.

• J. Pigno