Dancing With Winter’s Queen

3 o’clock in the morning
Been up all night adorning
Sparkling ice crystals in sand
Magic flows from each hand

A stride among transparent air
Walking but flying somewhere
Up to the crest of the overpass
Gaze back thru a looking glass

Twinkles pierce a blanket of fog
Far, far away, as if through smog
Clean crisp aching air I breathe
Magic, o’ magic, mindless seethe

12-degrees Fahrenheit tonight
Distant twinkle unblinking yard light
Ice fog interposed a hump of gray
Sparkles in air, seen miles away

Clear air here and whence I stride
Sand-gray ice churned like a tide
Road and walkway scraped flat
Each step reflects a sparkling mat

Magic, o’ magic, a normal world slain
Cold frostbiting ears burn with pain
Willful steps sway a rhythmic crunch
Down and away, to market for munch

On hump and swale and turning path
Mind computing distance into math
Two four six eight…up to fifty
Steps counting cadence as if thrifty

Fifteen hundred steps to market’s door
Soak in warmth; two hundred steps more
Pack in backpack, ready away home
Warmed to task, a plodding gnome

Cadence, rhythm, steadily walking
Ice queen’s welcome is death talking
Ease of second wind, blood flows hot
No sweat nor hurry, patience I’ve got

Street deserted, fast food closed down
No other magic astride in this town
Faerie princess lures sparkling smile
Wait, ‘o man, and tarry a while

Nay tarry I, nor to thy kiss do I race
Thy sparkling allure is a casket’s lace
Comely and fanciful, ‘o coldest of fires
Thy kiss stings, and numbs mortal desires

Beauty, ‘o beautiful yet wanton coldness
Dare ye heat immortal man’s boldness
Give me thy daughter to ravish slow
E’en thy mother I’d plunder below

Thee, o’ queen of northern light and ice
I cherish but flee as a gambler does dice
Sixteen hundred steps homeward I trek
Burdened, I stride shorter lest I wreck

Myriad cheap diamonds of crispy snow
Pearls upon black ice, mystery below
Night’s wintry ruler whispers malice
Drinking away life in a frosty chalice

So bitter cold sucks moisture from air
Snow is glittery gray sand in her hair
Death’s grin, simile of life’s stature
Beckons flashy teeth; a smile of nature

Black ice, black blood, stasis of death
Goad me home with determined breath
Last crunching step strides to the stair
Unburdened of food, hid from cold’s glare

Magic, o’ magic, thy sting is without
Pixyish power, steady hands hold stout
No war, nor outcry, nor contest had we
Magic you, magic me, the dance was free

Lust ye still to subdue warmth with cold
Lest ye vanish as vapors, a mythical gold
Stay out, o’ magic, ruler of wintry druids
Hungering to caress away my life’s fluids

Beautiful, dangerous, alluring and hard
I trod thy face, crushing each brittle shard
Respecting thy power, I nod but don’t kneel
Gain flesh, my dear, to learn how I feel

Dare me to come, I dare union of spring
Of spring is offspring from us in a fling
Not mocking thy magic, nor ye mock mine
Take woman’s body, let passions entwine

One day, someday, my corpse ye devour
Not this night, but desire it, at any hour
Preserve me in frost then, as thy want
I will arise, cold stiff, to be a haunt

Believe, o’ magic, my whispering smile
I matched thee tonight, surviving a while
Dare I desire you in death that you desire
Remember, and prevent my funeral pyre

Beckon me in death to your palace lights
Lace northern skies, coloring the nights
Remember me, and this night’s wary dance
Ears burn hot as you speak of the chance