Ice Storm

Ice Storm

Suburban streets awaken with the crunch

of tires cracking ice and shifting snow.

The dog walkers are few and far between.

Children huddle in packs like winter wolves,

peering down the street for buses they hope

are frozen in their own specific time.

There is a chill that's more than weather-borne;

a thought that even in this cyclical

freeze, a warm hand is still too far away

or afraid to reach out and break the ice

of carefully crafted personas that

could easily melt with a human touch.