December

i
The space between
in our mind(s)      fighting on the floor
peeling scales and flooding thoughts
ignoring and wishing with scorn

ii
If functioning
outside the box
expect the scent of stale popcorn
frozen, waste-less lands that
flatly deny any      breath

iii
a city of stars outwit the population
sliding blindly by in the snow

iv
Blood swells, Williams Lake, from fingertips
rough, diagonal cuts that cannot be explained
markings in the snow
suggest an undesirable story

drippings vanish
                mouthing the frozen mud

v
Cracking branches, silken with ice
grey skies lined         with fallen expectations
the lights that won’t photograph
      the memories that won’t fade

vi
two
                 days
                                     left