poetry

Words You Won’t Need on Your Tropical Holiday

Words You Won’t Need on Your Tropical Holiday

when the air sweeps
a swell of eucalyptus scent
inside your valise
here are some bon mots
you can leave behind:

crisp
brisk
sleet
snow
blustery
chilled
cozy
frost
blizzard
ice (well, you may want to save this one for cocktails…)
rime
biting
freezing
frozen
drift
icicle
snowman
raw
frigid
hail
cool
sled
sleigh
scarf
mitten
muffler
jumper
overcoat
hot cocoa
hot toddy
fire
snug

trust me –
you’ll have no need to utter
any icy sounds

poetry

ice: traveler’s temptation

ice: traveler’s temptation

the slick angular cubes and prisms
beg a tongue to lick and linger
to feel the polar opposite
of oppressive equatorial heat
thick with humidity, deferral, languor

don’t think about the risk
the bubble-studded beauties plead

and we weak temperate beings
succumb to their promise of cold
berak-berak be damned