1.
It comes in the windows and even through
The walls the second the furnace takes a
Break from heating the home as we have drawn
The curtains and locked the doors but there is
No mitigation of the weight of the
Cold on a winter night in December
In Minnesota even though we passed
The solstice and daylight will get longer
Gradually we face the coldest days
Of the year so it not just tonight that
Is bearing down it’s the burden of our
Knowledge of the months coming and there is
No use in grumbling so I put on my
Thick socks and pile up the heavy blankets.
While walking around
during the daylight only
a little oval
including my mouth eyes and
nose is exposed to the cold.
2.
When I think about the people who were
Airbrushed from the photographs of Joseph
Stalin because they fell in disfavor
With the Soviet Union I wonder
Whether the brush dispersed a very fine
Spray of paint or whether in fact color
Was brushed over the person erasing
His personage and I am sure that the
Work was meticulous and demanded
Dexterity — and then I think about
The millions of people who disappeared
Who were airbrushed from the earth in brutal
Fashion erasing their existence in
The service of an ideology.
The reality
is people are capable
of such monstrous
evil while professing the
utmost benevolence.
3.
I was driving through Stillwater doing
A chore turning on familiar streets and
I noticed the sun appearing with a
Right turn and with a left turn there was
The early morning moon — and I was in my
Working mind following the streets and the
Turns of the city but the sun and moon
Kept popping up around a corner and
Seemed to follow me — the moon was looming
White but yesterday it was yellow in
The dark — and there in a window was the
Lively reflection of the sun shining
Gold and my eyes didn’t hurt in lingering
Over the sight — and then I was driving.
The sun and moon are
unearthly beauty
everyone can see —
they enliven the
sky everyday.
4.
The Accident
As winter is dragging on and darkness
Is dominating morning and evening
I became frustrated being stuck in
The little rooms within my little house
So I was blasé this morning in the
Bathroom when I opened the cabinet
And the trimmer fell out into the sink
And I didn’t care and I didn’t think
Until I trimmed off half my beard and I
Realized the fall had changed the settings
And then what could I do but shave the rest
Even though I was watching the daily
Progression of my winter beard and now
I have to begin all over again.
Or maybe not but
I will certainly
go to a barber
to get a haircut
and restore balance.
5.
I gaze at the perpetrator in the
Mirror every morning and start with the
Left side of my chin with downward strokes and
Then I go under my nose and it does
Become apparent when it’s time to change
The razor because a dull blade will drag
Above my lip were I am sensitive —
I could be thinking about politics
Or the Academy Awards — while on
My right side next to my ear I begin
Stroking down against the grain to my neck
Until I reach my chin and when finished
I like to put the razor down and with
My fingers I like to feel smoothiness.
I’ve just discovered
an oddity that’s
taken forever
to notice — my right
side is hairier.
