*

*

somewhere

at the top of this world

a native of the snow

greases her skin

with whale oil

a layer between

the dry and the cold

*

here in the winter

I spread coconut oil

on face, feet and arms

a barrier between heated air

and hard water

*

I picture her

my mirror in action

her gnarled brown hands

my wrinkled pale fingers

all shiny with grease

*

wrinkles that etch a map

across years and continents

connecting two wandering lines

into One.