On frosty windowpanes,
my finger makes streaks
across morning fog.

Through narrow gaps,
I see the snow-laden walkway,
bare flower beds, tree boughs.

A bundled-up toddler takes
tentative steps into icy wonder,
her mom close by.

I remember my boot sinking into
first snow, a breathtaking surprise
for a tyke just bumping into life. 

Pamela Hammond was born in Chicago, grew up in Southern California, and now lives in Santa Monica. She earned a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a master’s from California State University, Northridge. She has published two chapbooks, Encounters (2011) and Clearing (2012) through Red Berry Editions, Fairfax, Calif. Also, her work has appeared in many journals in the past two years, including Assisi, Tulane Review, Crack the Spine!, and Valparaiso Poetry Review.