Ski Religion

Ode to Winter

twenty-five years back
he asked me to marry him
so began our lives

hospitality:
the heart of an Afghan home
(how sweet the tea tastes)

post-pandemic flight
the first for me; with my girls
to steal a weekend

beautiful DC:
the center of our country,
sordid past exposed

a bar mitzvah morn
in year five-seven-eight-three
from our first beliefs

a city forest
walking distance from temple 
Shabbat salom. Peace.

my happy daughters
finding books, happiness, love
on our girls’ weekend

getting her to here
after COVID/grief trauma?
a grin worth winning

dock spider, mud, fish;
a small hardwood forest hike 
to a man-made lake

you can feel the joy
seeping through this perfect view
of nature, reborn

lakes are in my blood. 
i learned to swim in one
and love nothing more

the sound of leaf breeze
is impossible to miss
from the top? perfect

there’s just nothing like 
five giddy little-teen girls
breathing us all in

our poor Daddy 
outnumbered seven to one
without one complaint

Kentucky kayaks
have defined my sister’s life
this past fifteen years

through all the algae
fighting through climate crises 
we keep paddling

life is a rope swing
make a running circle out
and don’t hit the tree

those just-jumped-in grins
can win our independence 
from a dark future

June: a harried month
with all the joys and sorrows
that make up this life