february has already lasted
a hundred years
when will this longest short month
be over?
winter
February 1, 2026
it blows into february
the air of awful anticipation on its wing
the cold burning even colder
than january’s sting
at least there’s snow
from the first month’s storm
whitening the ground
providing [minimal] distraction
from second month’s
curse
January 31, 2026
two panic attacks
[or something like them]
in one month
after years of fair avoidance
i cannot tell if something is
going on
inside me
or if it simply the strain
of the external forces
of the world i cannot control
[but still affects us all]
or maybe
maybe
it’s the strain of january
of winter
when i can never see the light of spring
at the end of the proverbial
tunnel
just give me one crocus blossom
one sprig of green
not these mountains of slush-snow
and lows below zero overnight
i need something
something
something to keep me going
this has been the longest january i’ve seen
since wisconsin
January 22, 2026
puppy snoofs
plant droops
kip shivers
first-appointment jitters
calmed by music and poetry
and coffee
January 2, 2026
down that coffee
chug that water
sprint down the stairs and
get ready for the day ahead
today
today
it will be
a day
[still kind of on
vacay
and spending time with kip
continuing traditions
and making new
and just do it
just get excited
and run run outrun the seasonal
depression
slowly invading your
head]
~~~
how come
this past
holiday season
i was unable to find
any
goddamn
candy canes
[of the candy cane flavor
variety]
?
[i found plenty
of skittles-flavored candy canes
and candy cane flavored
other things
but absolutely
zero
candy cane flavored
candy canes]
where did they all go?
has capitalism forced creativity
beyond our human wants and desires?
probably.
almost
definitely.
[well, at least our ai overlords
can enjoy the absurdity of our
‘ingenuity’
atop our burning bodies
after the world catches on fire
and the only water left
not contributing to coastal flooding
is being fed to them]
~~~
the problem
the problem
the problem is
i know
i know
i know our apocalypse
will be
so
so
so
slow
we won’t see it coming
we won’t acknowledge it here
we’ll just keep hoofing it to work
and buying our bagels
as our eyes slide past
broken infrastructure
and bodies in the street
until we’re about to be the body
and by then
it’ll be
too late
[and another person will walk past you
pretending
everything
everything
everything
is normal]
December 14, 2025
look at it snow
look at it snow
the frozen, wet wet droplets, careening down to the ground
with all their friends, with all their friends,
coating our new york city
with a wintry wonderland mix of
wet and beauty
white and sludgy
and making me feel like
i’m almost ready
for the rest of this season
[but only if it’s going to be
this
gorgeous]
December 7, 2025
december is really hitting me like
a ton of bricks
being transformed quickly into feathers
[i still have some bruises, and some pokes,
but all in all it’s the suffocating stuffing that’s
hitting me rather than the pounding of existential pressure, so
at least that’s…
different]
March 2, 2025
March has come in
like the lion it is —
bringing one day of relief,
and then an evening of terror,
followed by a morning
where, once again, it hurts to open my eyes
outside
let’s hope it does
go out like
a lamb
February 15, 2025
the house plants shine a little greener
against the dreary outside sky
in the winter months
January 23, 2025
it has been wisconsin cold outside
not just “cold like wisconsin”
but “cold even for wisconsin”
and i do not
like it
[at least the respite
is in view, even if it’s not the ending to winter
just yet]
kipventures 