Outside

She lives now in the cracks
between summer and snow
as if the tenth month were not even
as if ones and zeros
and zeros and ones
have set out to destroy
the precarious balance
of her days ahead and those gone by.

There is a restlessness
reflected in the rustling leaves
the ones she chastises
for mere appearance on her path
She knows those dastardly leaves
will buttress the barrier
between her and outside.

Outside.

She thrusts her hands
at every door causing false alarm
tricking her friends to think
today must be Spring or
tempting them
with the treat of Summer’s sweet.
Caramel-colored days must be
just beyond
where the sidewalk bends
back into sun.

Certainly she will push her way
through to next year.

AJW 10/2016