electric light candy canes
dance in the windows
like scissors
the white has closed us all in
the heat is on and that’s all there is
keeping us warm in the white

the kids are slashing tires
“15 years i been doin it
and i been drunk all those years”
overheard from a window to the street
and then a scuffle

bent over with a long straw
found in the wallet of a returned jacket
all there is to do is talk and when
the white is all gone a sense of relief
a sense of a grinding halt