Warmed

I am a wood frog in a previous life.

You would probably think I was dead

if you saw where I was inside logs and burrows

heart stopped

ice crystals in my blood.

I defrost in the warmth of Spring.

Before that, I am a deer mouse

huddled together snuggling with the others

I don’t live for long.

In my time, I am a white-tailed prairie dog, a bat, hedgehog.

I am even a skunk

suspecting that’s where I began.

Last December

I all came together in this chilled life –

until my sun got warm again.