Frost ferns covered the windows near Margaret’s bed, and frost painted the sere, feathery grasses in the fields, all motionless in the windless morning until sun caught on ice crystals sparking rainbows, all silent until Margaret summoned a blackbird’s haunting whistle to a frost that would… soon… Margaret exhaled… sublime….

Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction and poetry. She is the author of five collections of poetry, two collections of short fiction, and two novels—most recently the novel Right This Way (Spuyten Duyvil). Her 50-word stories have been published in 50-Word Stories, 50 Give or Take, and Blink Ink. She teaches literature and creative writing at Drexel University.