Snow Queen

Snow settles in squabbling rows between the bricks of ice.

It is, has always been, the call to ruin that the morning brings.

It’s quiet here. The crisp snow cover crackling,

The branches freezing into crystal strands.

The first of sleepy breaths fog up my mirrors

And let me draw a new face in the glass.

Give me a word to whisper and I’ll call it out in blizzards,

Circling its meaning on a windy leash.

But nothing new will come of your suggestions, I have made sure of that.

The snow and ice will cover up my footsteps and the air

Will freeze my shrieks before they pierce your ears.

Don’t pity me. This is my art form. I’ve mastered silence the same way

You master love.

In truth, I’ve come to like the touch of coldness

On my skin and buried in my heart.

Cold slows things, slows the rain into these gentle flakes,

Slows the rapids into trickling streams,

Slows my thoughts into these words I sing,

Slows my love into a harmless flurry.
But then you come with fire and you ask for storm.

All right then, start your holy mission.

Take that wily flame of yours and bring it in.

Just try me. Start to melt the ice. It will bend over.

But if you think your burning torch, your beacon, your bright love

Can win,

You have never faced the wrath of my affections.

They will snuff you out. Make no mistake.

This ice holds back a torrent of desires.

This melted snow would drown the world

In too much love.

Your little fire will be gone, its ash extinguished,

And all the heat of all your love will disappear

The moment you unleash my ardor.

There is no place for torches here.

You want to melt my heart and hold me warmly.

I understand. I’d like that too.

But I am not some prisoner in need of saving.

I rule this ice, my home is in this snow.

Come back to me another day with wildfire,

Or a volcano, or a star exploding,

Some storm that might hold up a worthwhile dance,

And maybe then I’ll let the ice subside, the snow get warmer,
Let loose the raging rhythm of my heart.