Hat and gloves. Puffer coat over snow pants, over insulated rubber boots painted with little red flowers. Slide down the gentle slope on my little black sled, Tramp back up to the top and slide down again. Throw snowballs for the dog to chase. Return to the icy back step, Snow-soaked with flushed rosy cheeks and running nose, Fleece sweater soaking up sweat.
Birthday -Isabel Brozen ‘24 A mug of hot milk and fluffy slippers To match the fluffy robe wrapped around me. Sitting in the piny living room by the wood stove Glowing with heat and light. In the morning I found the little angel in an orange dress with golden horn Inside the dark blue box marked ‘15,’ And today her magnet lets her soar between wooden stars Over a stable and little magnet cows. The tree stands at the far end of the room The cold white lights gleaming like stars Between the branches and whimsical decorations. An ornament for every year or trip away from home A story for every one. Straw stars and glass bubbles, Wooden ships and metal towns, Clay mice, famous figures, and brightly painted sea life, Creatures of wood and resin peek between pine needles, Birds - carved, beaded, feathered, or sewn soar around the upper branches. The fluffy abominable snowman (that I was frightened of for years) Hangs the star from the very top.
Shiny paper - gold red and blue looped with ribbon and hidden tape. Glitter snowflake print and pastel peonies on aquamarine. No poinsettias or holly to be seen Wrapping gifts Stacked at the end of the table, On the deep blue, heavy cloth Covered in white stitches.
Chlorine scent in my nose Sharpening the cold prick at my lungs. The scent clinging to my softened skin and in my still wet hair Feeling the bump of the ground under my feet Each step a reminder, that out here, I can no longer glide Through a world of cerulean skies Marked in light fragments of the surface.
-Griffin Hatley ‘22
Pale buttercream cake Piled in pink frosted twists of petals A mountain of beautiful swirled roses Green curling leaves draping down like thread. A cake I shared with my great grandmother so many years ago, Her birthday 4 days after mine, 87 years before mine. I saw her reach her 100th year before I watched Her absence from our gatherings, Stretch long and wide and full And dull and smooth with time
