winter love

for years I preferred summer.

spring and fall were fine,
both still warm enough
to be outdoors and play,

but summer was everything.
the sky seemed bluer,
the sun
warmer.

the girls in their summer dresses.
the moon at night.
fireflies
and dandelions.

the windows were open,
the top down,
there was the beach, the sand,
the curl of waves.

but I've changed.
I've learned to love winter,
finally,
which in looking
back
is strange.

ice and snow, that cold
wind.
being inside for days
at a time, unable to get
out, unable
to go.

I like the way the trees
are bare.
grey and empty. the icy stream.
I like the way the roads
are closed.

how the snow has narrowed
life down,
has kept us together,
kept us home.