The stillness of a January night

I miss the stillness of a January night
Fresh fallen snow
All clean in the moonlight
Time has stopped
Windows are frozen in twilight

Recall the drive home f/your house
See the empty road so lonely, neighbor asleep in warmth
See the void road in the small crack in my window
Body still warm from recent activity

We talked like youth wishing
To wake with each other
Make a life
And I waited for you to grow up
I grew up w/o you
Grew out of alpine winter clothes
Into foreign maturity
Learning how to mother in exotic country
Now our daughter speaks in Tang dynasty poetry
Her own father a mystery
And I’ve no words to explain
Half of her story
Like palace straw stacked to the ceiling
waiting to be gold spun