Frostbite

the way a goat,

tethered, will ruminate

a rope; the way

each in extremis tip

of ear and nose

unbuds, or snail-

like toe, curled

dreamily, lets

go too fat a foot,

cinching filament

and tendril, pinch

by stony pinch

until the pulse exhausts

and flickers down

to drowse and numb,

the sleep so close,

so old, so mild

inside the placid

scald

and hissing of the snow.