Freezer Isle

Lemony grass is trimmed, then discarded.

Excess, swept up into a flurry by God’s breath,

Carried to stone and mineral—ice cubes in the elixir of exploration.

Sweet notes drip from beaks, 

Coats of winged creatures rustle in aging leaves, the department store.

Chlorophyll fading, sap freezing, exhilaration painting 

My face in its waves, as I see the transparency and algal-lined floor. 

Myself in another world, I like to think.

Freezing and wheezing, crackles in the lungs of forest,

On sodden twigs I crouch, on two legs

Hovering my end over sweet metallic land, iron and worms.

Chirp. Flow. Grow, the sun winks above with its intense winter stare,

And I count fish.

They’re swimming south, into the gutter,

Away,

Away,

To stray, until the ice melts.