At first light, ice
tings the windows
with its soft hail.
The sound wakes me.
My heart races
at the thought
of black ice glazing
the driveway.
The world with all
its known unknowns.
Month’ end,
I am amazed
at my storminess
as February leaves
me undone, while my
neighbors’ car idles
in the swirling wind.
I listen for the deep
scrape of sidewalks
and a dog’s mighty
yelp as dawn slowly
reveals itself.
The kindest part
of the day is now.
January Gill O’Neil is an associate professor at Salem State University and the author of Glitter Road (forthcoming, 2024) Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009), all published by CavanKerry Press. From 2012-2018, she was the executive director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. The recipient of fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Cave Canem, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, O’Neil was the 2019-2020 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. She currently serves as the 2022-2023 board chair of the Association of Writers and Writers Programs (AWP).
Image: “a combination of crunchy” by Shane Allison
Pine Hills Review 