clumsy, timid, testing
but
confidence growing
cutting through
permafrost
steel blades
tight laced
making curlicues
patterns cut glass
Mouse fur hat
bobs as she glides
spinning in arabesque
completing a
Swan Lake sequence
no witnesses
a private pond
in a Scottish winter
faster and faster
timing the snow flakes
Woollen leggings
against the chill
velvet collared coat
red pearl-back mittens
pleated tartan skirt
pirouettes on the turn
circling into herself
decreasing, yet increasing
a gyroscopic toy
in a frozen wood