not snowing
her cold smile
preserves the space
between empty
mailboxes

their maws frozen
half open

it’s not optimism
that makes her
think so

the smashed rock
glass was
swept off
the bedroom
floor years ago

that she can’t
remember who
held the broom
or the color
of the eyes

that followed
its strokes

that she does
remember the whiskey’s
deep leather hue

that hinge
between alcoholic
palimpsest and
the minor key
that traps images

inside vivid
ghost craters

does not
rust in
this bitter air