it’s complicated

life’s layers just 
seem to keep layering
one upon the other

same as my backyard rink
this year interestingly
enough

i’m out there sprawled flat on the ice
orange ridgid drill in hand
its whirring starting and stopping
hundreds of times
as i poke inch by inch into one
air pocket after another

i flood and wait over night
for freezing temps to work their wonders

as the pinks and purples 
of pending sun
light the sky to my right
i’m back out there
and so are the layers
thin slices of ice each
separated by captured air 
scrunch beneath my booted feet

now i’m just scrunching 
banging with the broom
four inches down in some places
let’s try again
as the water flows over the ice
and finds the dips and descents

well, despite drilling banging 
stomping sweeping
the layers stubbornly remain

maybe
they just aren’t
meant to go

Written by Scott Moore
Illustrated by Landon Wideman

Inspired February 2025