Mittens cautiously hold a steaming cup
Hot sweet tea and chocolate–the secret formula
We huddle leeward behind a boulder
White-out rolls over us like an angry dragon
Your eyes crinkle mischievously
A frosting sheet breaks off my bandana
Storm tugs my outer layer
Yet the dragon’s talons can’t reach me
Snug as a bug in a rug I am
Thick insulation sheet: we can sit on the ground
It’s big enough to wrap us both in an emergency
A rescue helicopter is circling climbers on the north face
You offer a chocolate bar and I swap you tea
Our ascent only needed shirts and I wondered if we over packed
When lugging all that stuff up the hill
I smile at the ice dragon and sacrifice a sip of sweet tea
Definitely not
Scottish mountains are like that
Never underestimate the power of your elders
Even if their smiles are tooth gapped and worn
A laugh bursts forth I barely catch it above the roar
In response I spread my arms
A sliver of blue breaks through the furry of crystals
We watch as they slow their dance
The dragon goes back to sleep
I remove my snow goggles and we grin at one another–untamed