That night
it was snowing
like crazy but we left
the kitchen in disarray
to pick her up
and we drove
through half-deserted white
billowed streets to see
the pretty lights at
the botanical
gardens
I walked
ahead so you
could stroll alone
with her through
the winter night
lit by
imagined dragons,
undersea creatures,
lightning bolts,
swans on a frozen
lake, the
real horses
and the wagon
carrying families
jingling somewhere
behind us and then
we finally met up
at the barrel
holding fire, reaching
our hands out
to the blazing circle
and then
taking them
back again.
Halfway North 