Poetry: Sub Zero

During the last few years, I've been writing a poem each day and posting it on Facebook. Most of my poems are celebrations of natural beauty; a few are ethical/political commentaries with some bite.

You can see more poems by visiting my new Facebook page.

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SUB ZERO
a winter poem

©2023 Rev. Ted Tollefson

What's the appeal of charging into a head-wind

when the air temp is sub zero

and the wind-chill is diving towards Arctic Bliss?

Finding the right gear

is part of the fun

and there's nothing like

a 20 below wind chill

to activate mindfulness of gaps.

Some actually like

shouldering through winters like these

it makes us feel close to our northern kin

ensures bragging rights

among our tropical friends

and makes Spring feel

almost like the Rapture

when it finally comes.

A few who are Lutheran or Catholic to the bone

know that it "serves us right to suffer"

and look for opportunities

to feel bad enough to feel good

if you follow that inverse logic of spiritual masochism.

Me, I'm mostly stubborn and proud

like my ancestors tricked into coming

to this "Promised Land"

who stayed anyway and pretended to like it

even after they learned

that streets were not paved with gold

and rivers did not run with whiskey---usually.

Deep freeze becomes

just another bad break

that keeps the neighborhood quiet

after our Snowbirds have flown away

and send us postcards with pink birds

to remind us that Spring is coming

whether we're ready or not

even if we have not yet perfected

the art of Wintering In

and Hunkering Down.