each time I am two steps out my door I pause 
to savor the stark colors of winter at altitude 

I love the way it’s been here for millennia and will be 
for millennia more 

here in Saint-Véran we are used to the cold 
it is below freezing and snows 
a few more inches every few days 
snowshoes and skis are a way of life 

by the fireside in the evening I think about 
the blessings I enjoy here in the High Alps 
I cannot describe the beauty 
in mere words en anglais ou en français 

I regret that I cannot share this with my wife 
she passed three years ago shortly after we moved here 
she had fever then a cough then she couldn’t breathe 
we went to the hospital in Briançon 
they put her on a ventilator and she couldn’t talk 

I don’t think she ever knew she was dying 
I held her hand and spoke almost continually 
I told her everything I could remember 
about our life together and how much 
I love her and always will—

I think she heard me until toward the end 
then she was gone 

here in Saint-Véran we are used to the cold 

Bio: Thomas Smith