inside & outside the primordial heart

through the frosted glass,
the bough laden with snow,
the branch bereft of leaf,
wind blowing in pristine silence,
snow drifts,
red bows and green lights,

inside the short-needled
pine, dry needles falling,
ornaments
to be put away, the last one
the angel atop,

another Christmas past, another
gift unwrapped but unopened,

the desolation in North Dakota
unravels the best of me.