Winter Detox

Holly Cone

Sometimes

my only comfort in the world

after an arduous winter day

is to strip myself

bare

of the suffocating layers

of binding

they call coats, pants, boots

warmth

and lie naked on my bed

spreading myself wide

arms stretched, toes sprayed

soaking

in the silky cool of my sheets

against my breasts, my thighs.

As if the bitter winds of

winter

were not cold enough to

chill my searing skin.

My bindings, their artificial

heat

no match for my true love.

Golden sun on brown, bare skin

Lazy breeze through bleached-blonde

hair

damp with lake water.

legs and arms entwined with another’s

on some silty-sand beach.

Yes,

these soft cool sheets touching me,

my hair leaving shivers on my naked back,

are my only comfort while you, love, are

away.