Hot Toddy

Hot Toddy

My face feels so cold, my hands colder.
Into a hot shower where I can smolder
Winter makes me feel so much older
I’ll forego plain tea for something bolder

A hot toddy all rum-orange luscious
Deeply inhaling the citrus as it crushes
Silver tea ball gently chimes as it brushes
The teacup in hand where warmth rushes

Sip like a kitten enjoying too much cream
Warmth spreading all through me as I dream
Of summers that get shorter or at least seem
To fade away into winter where icicles gleam

I  love absorbing the summer-like tea in a cup
Imagining all my lovely perennials coming up
I’ll settle for my cabbages on which  I will sup
Nestling into my couch with my faithful pup

From where we watch the ghost-like snows
Blue is the only color this evening knows
Not just the tones of ice and hail that blows
But in my tired face too it also shows

The frigid months are getting harder
In spite of me being somewhat smarter
By putting meals in a freezer and larder
With Old Man Winter I can’t barter

Guess I’ll have to go away a little while
Where Bora-Bora's waters make me smile
And the beach goes on for many a mile
But for now I’ll have to dress in frigid style

Three shirts, leggings under my pants
Earmuffs and boots don’t stand a chance
Against mother nature's wintry, windy dance
So the tanning bed is my new daily romance

Perhaps maybe winter can be a little nice
If you can afford the high heating bill’s price
You can if you keep lights off and eat only rice
Before I moved north, I should have thought twice



author's notes:
Chilly and downright freezing weather can be made more endurable
with just a little nip now and then. I do not advocate drinking, but
I see no harm in a thimble of brandy or whiskey in a hot cup of tea.
My grandmother and greatgrandmother gave me a single teaspoon
of blackberry brandy when I had chest colds and tucked me in while
my chest had a nice warm feeling. I think it's probably safer than all
the poisonous prescription and over-the-counter meds that kill people
everyday. I do not advocate social drinking or drunkenness in any way.
The keyword is "moderation".