Today frost flowers
caught my eye
and led me off the road,
each new ribbon
of curled wonder
inviting a cry of surprise.
These delicate beauties,
ephemeral and fleeting,
I thought I’d missed them
this year,
too busy, too buzzy,
not enough time
to see
and yet,
here they are,
and I’m here too,
cold and delighted.
I crack off
two thin curves
and let them melt in my mouth,
drawing into myself
the taste and feel
of something so brief.
The to-do list for the day
dissolves,
and I find myself skipping
a few steps back down to the road
singing as I skip:
“enchantment, I will follow
yoooooou!”
I twirl around
with my husband,
beneath this gray-cloud
December sky,
the slight taste of dittany
and the flavor of pause
faintly lingering
on our tongues.
The words strike a cord for this northern transplant, I wait patiently for the frosty mornings here in Florida which usually happen late December and January. Though fleeting it’s a joy to watch as the frost magically dissolves as the sun rises.