Paul J. Pastor

Snowed In

The snow has swelled to lick the windowsill

with its dead tongue. The luxury of chill

has favored every creaking of the eaves.

The laurel hedge regrets its emerald leaves.

All things are either torpid or they shake.

The wind carves drifts like some ghost’s birthday cake.

And everything stands naked, bony, true.

Somehow, it’s all not half as cold as you.

Paul J. Pastor is a widely published writer, poet, and critic, Executive Editor of Nelson Books, and author of several books, most recently The Locust Years: Poems, forthcoming in 2025. He lives in Oregon.