2025, Days, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, winter

Days 2025: Winter (61-62)

Day 61

cross currents run through
this sinew, these bones

Day 62

the air before rain held
that faint scent of fresh turned earth
and warm rain on tired cement

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2025, Days, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, winter, Working Class Literature

Days 2025: Winter (51-55)

Day 51

[52]

the air all sun and ice
all the warmth there is

shine in the constellations
of my family’s eyes

Day 52

a bit of a thaw
uncovers the wasteland

we construct, call
a civilization


Day 53


Yeorgi, are the plans finished?

selah


Day 54

the river will tell
said the old captain
what it needs when

Day 55

one with the mud roll back, old clay
into the river

birth us
a brand new world

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2025, Days, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, winter

Days 2025: Winter (48-50)

A Day Before 52

Day 48

the universe is infinite and two feet tall
laughs and draws herself
holding hands with Baba Yaga

Day 49

given the state of humanity
I place my hope in monsters

Day 50

[A Day Before 52]

Today at home: a birthday gift I’ve given myself
during this cold, wet season; the silence falls

in snow and refracted sunbeams. safe
with hot coffee and warm socks
I am anxious about eating eggs

so I showered and shaved
like the men from my childhood did —

whether or not the world ends.
Then, meditating on the three states of water,
offer up a thankful prayer

that the ice did not stretch its way
into my veins: the gift given me today.

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