February Ice
By Chris Crittenden
ice sneaks in anyway it can,
daubing bunched newspapers
as if they were bouquets.
this is not glamorous ice,
not solar blonde on windows;
this is poisonous ice
that bites copper with puffy stings.
this is contagious ice,
spread by coughing winds,
it seeks out the lymph nodes of insulation,
makes cellars wheeze.
some ancient war started this.
ever since the first heartbeat
squared off against cold,
barriers have never been the same.