Winter Women


We do not dream of cool
willows ruffling the pools
and spring songs
rising when the last ice goes down.
We do not see in dreams an old snow-haze
rising over the shadow of grass
and we forget
the forest lifting a chartreuse skirt
in the breeze.
Instead our dreams are full of mud
where dirty cells fornicate
and break out whining
in the humid days of summer.
We shift our hips
and in the heat of sleep
see slimy buds
unfolding like unwanted babies
into the tired world.

We do not dream
in negligees like dew.
We dream in nightgowns
drier than old snow
melting thin.