Frost Bites

I have a set of Christmas lights in the shape of stars hanging in my room. The hung there since the beginning of spring, long before Christmas was a thought. They served a few purposes but two in particular. The first was to show off in front of my friends with

Hey, check this out. How dope is this?

and always keep me in my dreams. Stars that permanently hang over the curtains, curtains that hang over the window, the window that lets light it, the very light the curtains swallow, to only create darkness, that of the eternal night. The night where only the stars shine reminding me to keep dreaming and create. 

I work at best in the presence of these lights. Oddly enough artistic enough to inspire me even though the turmoil around me hasn't. I either have the ideas but not the time or the time and not the ideas. Alas, I haven't given up! I managed to submit a few pieces --it's all about determination (and fighting off bad juju).

For those of us struggling to stay immune to the loss of idea or the cold as most states are --even near Russia, the temperature hit -91 degrees-- I have the perfect drink. 

Frost Bite

Preparation one: Sweeten

Start off with some hail to dent the metal pot, rains of heartless sorrows --the blueberries

Silence them by melting their loneliness, mend them with sweetness as warm as sugar just enough to shelter them

But time wears and attacks are forgotten as the melt water adds from floods of the tap
Now watch, the chaos of of pressure boiling away their oxygen only to suffocate into the unidentifiable batch of bodies

Add blueberries into a saute pan and let them melt slightly

Add sugar and a pinch of water to allow for the blueberries to burst

Leave at a light simmer until a compote forms

Preparation two: Drink
Mama, I've always wanted to go to Candy Land
Where there are peppermint tree forests covered in Damiana leaves
Mama, I bet they taste so sweet.
Mama, I read somewhere they taste just like figs.

But no.
Mama, you only wanted me to eat lettuce leaves and drink chamomile flowers
promising somewhere in my dreams I would reach the licorice river of Candy Land

But mama, I found it here on Earth from the king's dancer, Cinnamon
and the troll called mugwort

Candy Land, mama, is only one lighter click away.

The tea I prefer is a meditation mix found at Herbs and Art, online and in Denver

The tea is simply Peppermint Leaf, Damiana Leaf (fig-like taste), Mugwort (used for health and mental balance in oriental regions), Anise seeds (licorice-like taste), Wile Lettuce Leaf, Chamomile Flower, and Cinnamon.

Mint or Chamomile works just fine.

Let brew.

Preparation three: Consume
We've all gathered for the wedding,
the wedding of the coffee-shop romance.
The girl who came in every Saturday before her shift and the boy who always wanted to be a musician.

Somewhere in the mix of brewing,
they both agreed they wished they could be something more than they were now,
her raspberry lip gloss printed on the stemmed lid that burned her lips,
and his blueberry muffin fell over from nerves.

At the wedding, we will have tea and coffee,
brewed together because when she came in,
he would let his mind wander as far as her heart
to create something special for her.

There will be no speeches,
because they both set out for California
where their dreams were greater than minimum wage
and they run with them until the bells will ring

Sweeten the tea with the blueberry compote and add sliced (in half) raspberries.

Enjoy!