I’m taken back to that winter mourning. Ice covering every seam of the house as if it was trying to keep it together for us. The cold never bothered me anyways, but that day I stood amongst it and shivered. I saw the sun wake up for you and when you took a final bow- the air left your lungs like a season. I carry my mother’s stamina and my father’s heart. In one breath I feel resilient and in the other I want to crumble like the snow beneath my slippers on that winter morning. Smiles and frowns cross my face with no boundaries and I’m willingly and uncomfortably here for the taking. Each year passes and I grow a new shell and spend the rest of the months trying to hollow it out in order to understand myself better. It’s regrowing and rebuilding and responding to a notion of grief that I know all too well. Winter doesn’t scare me, it never did. -AMT ©️