Frostbite
Less a nip than gnaw,
the way a goat,
tethered, will ruminate
a rope; the way
each in extremis tip
of ear and nose
unbuds, or snail-
like toe, curled
dreamily, lets
go too fat a foot,
cinching filament
and tendril, pinch
by stony pinch
until the pulse exhausts
and flickers down
to drowse and numb,
the sleep so close,
so old, so mild
inside the placid
scald
and hissing of the snow.
