Being Brave in the Cold by Glennys Egan

January 26, 2022
Poem name: Being Brave in the Cold Poet name: Glennys Egan Poem begins: Science tells me and I believe why the snow falls and the door jamb contracts and the plastic cracks but the liquor doesn’t freeze. How is it, though, that the trees can stand so sparse, exposed and come spring still bloom unabashedly back to life? Vulnerability gifted and received; their naked dormancy not punishment but relief. Perhaps this is the year I’ll learn to let the warm sweater of my grief fall open without moving to cover my bare left breast. The sun low, your irises expand at the sight. I don’t apologize for what you find. Come the melt, when the door begins to bulge back against the thresh, we’ll step boldly over it into a new beginning’s light. End of Poem. Credits: Copyright © Glennys Egan Previously published in Capsule Stories: Winter 2020 Edition. Raised in the Canadian prairies, Glennys Egan lives in Ottawa, where she works for the government like everyone else. Her poetry has been published in Taco Bell Quarterly, Canthius, No Contact Magazine, and several other lovely places. Glennys sits on the board of directors for Arc Poetry Magazine. You can find her and her dog, Boris, online at @gleegz or http://gleegz.me