JANUARY FIRST

Indoor day of no sunshine

over candles we hold

a spoon with melted lead

flip it into cold water

Shapes foreshadow

this year’s karma:

fortune, travel, love

For now we forget

the empty chair

the absent spirit

We lift champagne

may we live well

may we prosper

may shadows stay away 

may friends be near

Co-founder of Penchant, a.k.a. Northfield Women Poets, Riki Kölbl Nelson holds an MA degree in English literature from the UNC and an MFA from the U of M. Publications include a bilingual collection of poems, Borders/Grenzen and a chapbook, the Fall Heart.