miles to go before i sleep

a distant glowing light blurred by snowfall, my destination beckons.
each dragging foot slides over ice and leaves me tumbling into the hard ground,
my numb hands useful still at least to catch me before my face makes contact.
above me the clouds lit from within by the snow and its reflection of the moon
move sluggishly with the cold. i am tired. my slow breath is hot in the air,
a small cloud of my own to fog my glasses. give me something to grasp and hold,
to pull me up and out of the gutter with its frozen puddles.
along the road i am on each house has candles centered in every window.
conformity bares its ugly straight teeth, dripping with middle class money.
i manage to get myself right side up and trudge on once more,
aware more than ever of the distance yet to go.