survival

i am stacking wood,
storing supplies, food,
meat of sorts, stocking
up, as it were, for
what's next. blizzard,
depression, the market
plunge, the unringing
phone. i have been here
before, in childhood,
in every age i have felt
the pangs of hunger,
of thirst, of being alone
with a small fire
to keep my hands warm.
i have felt the cold
in my feet, the wet
socks, and the dull
ache of bones as they
pushed forward through
the deep, unflinching snow.