Winter

One must have a mind of winter
to bear the leafless trees
to have the urge to squeeze their branches
as an old friend's hand.

One must have a mind of winter
to look the raven firmly in the eye
to print a palm in snow
to draw a circle round the sun.

Slaloming through trees like fool unnoticed
playing with a flake
I woke up in the heart of winter
frozen in a lake.

This is a poem inspired by the first line of "The Snow Man" by Wallace Stevens.