FROM ONE MAN TO ANOTHER
JAMIE SAMDAHL
Wanting to watch our spit freeze and plummet
we walk to the quarry on the coldest day of the year
we try for silence it is too cold for birdsong
too cold for pileated jackhammer
but also too cold for true stillness and our boots crunch
and skid over the grainy crust of snow
I’ve never visited you at home before
towards the quarry our secret thoughts
carry on the wind like music piano
slow on the slick bits I want to ask
which Greek myth am I thinking of
my mind stuffed with white frost feathers
a swan—
we meet dusk and the winter constellations
I decide to save it all for another day
on my way home
I drive straight for Orion and he opens his arms to me
∘∘∘