brisk winds over
lips
dries cold
spit

one
move-
ment
and they
crack
split
tear

rolling on down
my chin
to rest at its peak
a drop

crimson and
ready
to fall
to the hard snow

white
now with
a spot of red
now with
a spot of pink
as it spreads,
  as  it  fades —

a film of tears
frozen to the
pupil
saccading swiftly

crystalline structures
perched on tips of eyelashes

staring at brumal
  skies
picking at cracked and
lifeless
lips

tremors
quakes
       shakes
snapping
convulsing
spines
and bones

chatter
shatter
break


numbing cold
but
there is warmth

in the darkness

it is close
but
it never comes
it  will  never  come