Frosting

The first frost of late fall

Reaffirms my commitment

To rise before the sun

To catch the moment

Of diamonds in the making

To be present for the proposal

to marry Winter

To get down on one knee

And meet my engagement—

My devotion to Winter

With all HER quiet glory!

Dressing everything up in lace,

In long satin sashes of frozen grace

In crystalline clarity of dreams unveiled

In ivory silks of devotional tapestry

On that first frost

I am reminded again

Of my love affair returning

Like an old flame showing up

to our school reunion

After the death of my relationship with Autumn

And my heart swells with the surprise of it

The tingling thrill of both

sweet remembrances of past shared delights

And new flutters of what we could be together

today in this quiet glory—

In this new season of being

Being partnered with Winter

As if the frosting covering

the changing landscape

becomes the icing on our wedding cake

In celebration of our union

What will my commitment to HER

Bring out of me?

—A coming out to the presence of being

with all-that-Winter-is

All Her brilliance, her slowness,

Her silence, Her mysteriousness,

All Her guttural growls, Her icy fierceness

Her introspection, Her hibernation

All Her mercurialness, Her cuddly coziness

All this EVERYTHING in me—

Curling up small, reflective

Yet unleashing swirls of wintery mix

All here inside my heart

Hello my beloved Winter!!

May I have your hand?