Do I love Windhoek in winter
where windows won’t close and
welcome entrance to the cold
(not by Iceland’s or Sweden’s standards
but by its own)
a city that bakes its residents
most the year long?
In layers of clothes, I chill
ensconced in my sitting room
streaming entertainment
wrapped in a blanket,
rubbing my nose.
I understand that entropy
may soon overtake me.
I shouldn’t wax proud
or believe privileged status
will stave off my inevitable
winter at Gammams.
Don Stevenson is an American poet, writer, graphic designer, artist, and a member of the Windhoek Writers Club. With his family he made a home in Namibia in 1981. His illustrated children’s book, The Wonderlamp, was published in that year. Ancestors and Other Visitors, an anthology of poetry and drawings, was published in 2018.