snørøyk—Chris Wheeler

“She has embroidered the borders of speech between us”

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Chris Wheeler is a writer and poet rooted in Middlebury, IN. His work has been published in Barren, Fathom, Kingdoms in the Wild, and The Rabbit Room, among others. He has published two collections of poetry: Solace: Poems for the Broken Season (2020) and Masks & Mirrors (2023). He writes regular long-form work and poetry at Tethered Letters. He lives with his wife and five children in his childhood home.

snørøyk

by Chris Wheeler

I have found her in the sedge
plucking peaches and plums
from the eastern edge of the sky.
I've seen her bejewel every scratch 
in our window panes. She has embroidered
the borders of speech between us,
shaking it out like an old down
comforter billowing over a bed, smoothing
it into the corners for warmth.
I caught sight of her by the downspout
yesterday, polishing her diamonds. 
Last week she chased the chickens into their coop
and the children into the mudroom, kissing
their cheeks until they bloomed like roses.
She lit a fire in the woodstove and sweetened 
their cocoa with freshly-ground snow.
Some nights I see her standing silent, watching 
the planets rotate in their orbits. Some nights 
I hear her whistling old songs in the shelter belt. 
I have traced her footprints in the river. 
I have seen her water the earth with stars.

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[Snørøyk is Norwegian for "snow-smoke."]

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Photo by Nathan Fertig on Unsplash