Winter Escape

by Nicole Farmer

They give birth astride the grave –

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

the sun slowly rising to scorch us

as little green lizards scramble

under eucalyptus bushes.

gentle wind lifts my straw

hat, toes soaking up surf as

we lie in our coffins.

this thought occurring 

as we sprawl in the warm sand,

the soft lull and low bubble

of saltwater caressing the cove;

gentle rush, no roar.

we long for this place

in time, even as we live it,

escaping the winter

blizzard back home.

we long for ourselves, our fading

youth, full well knowing

this moment cannot last.

take my picture, see me

in my happiness, just now,

before it’s gone.

next time I’d like to come back

as a cloud; windswept, shimmering

pale peach, golden, and violet.

BIO: Nicole Farmer (she/her) has published two books of poetry, Wet Underbelly Wind (Finishing Line Press 2022), Honest Sonnets (Kelsay Books 2023), Open Heart (Kelsay Books, 2025). Her poems have been published in Wisconsin Review, Suisun Valley Review, Apricity, Wild Roof Journal, Poetry South, Kakalak, and many other journals. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her actor husband and their stubborn terrier. NicoleFarmerpoetry.com