How
to Survive a Minnesota Winter
Julia Klatt Singer
Put on an old hat and
mittens.
Wrap your body in darkness. Carry
the weight of night on your shoulders.
Walk, without making a
sound.
Notice how the air shifts
when he is near.
Find him, sitting by a
window,
his silhouette imprinted on the pane.
Listen to the sound of the streetlamp.
Know your body hums
the same.
Turn and find the moon. Bare yourself
like these winter trees.
Let beauty fall to
your feet, let wind
shake you, let your bones swallow
the chill of this evening’s air.
Nothing, not even
winter,
can tame your wild bird of a heart.