Winter Angels – Engel

 

cement is bursting again and again, delicate

tiny blossoms break the heart of sidewalk

unfathomably bright faces, fleeting presence

 

just as we might freeze stiff with cold, fear, gilded greed

we also might melt into an ocean of gratitude, forgetting

our untrustworthy desires, arbitrarily chosen smallness

 

sometimes an angel appears with modest gifts

leaving them in your shoes or under the tree

then flies down the many stairs and the little girl

rushes to get a glimpse of angel presence and…

– she does

 

in winter we wait, we welcome the dark sister

precious glow of flame, snowy night flickering

inner fire warms our fingertips, toes, and soul

 

we remember the sick and lonely, we send care

packages, later we hum and sing in harmony, eat

Stollen und Lebkuchen, connecting East and West

 

sometimes, filled to the brim, we turn light as a feather

we dance to the floor, spiraling, whirling swirling bowing

to God, Grace, Gravity, we seek to emerge a majestic Tree

 

only to disappear in the fog, conversing with stars and moon

above the Milky Way sighs, die Michstraße, winds are blowing

relief over barren earth, weathered potatoes and red apples

 

in the cellar hiding their riches, the girl unfolds her

ecstasy pulsing through hidden roots, silvery breath

the angel, the guardian of mercy, never to leave her

forgetting, losing and retrieving, remembering and

– always present

 

Karina Epperlein, Berkeley, December 2025

 

Translations from German:

Engel = Angels

Milchstraße = Milky Way

Stollen und Lebkuchen = Stollen and Gingerbread

 

Lebkuchen are really “life cakes” – sometimes with wafers (Oblaten) at the bottom