Bees in My Bonnet

 I love winter because... It is an excuse to hibernate To sit inside and gather myself even further inside - not just a home, but my self-home The body that feels the cold, that shivers with the wind,  The eyes that squint at the tickling snowflakes This body reminds me that I want to be warm. I find spaces in winter to be alone, To quiet my inner home, to witness the slowness of snow lightly falling. I look on the calendar and remember a short while ago the leaves were changing. I count the days and know spring will come. Yet in this moment I want to stay - in the stillness, in the cold,  I want to shroud myself in fluffy layers, to feel the cold cannot win with me. The warmly lit fire beckons and I am warmed from the outside.  I reflect on the Maker of Snow, and the Maker of Warmth. I am glad He lives with me, inside me,  That my inner home is a trysting place to commune with Another. My hibernating is not in isolation: God is here with me. I love winter's whiteness The darkest d