MONDAY, DECEMBER 17

It’s actually cold now and that means coats.

I pull out the red puffer coat I’ve worn

for the last two winters—it still fits,

but unlike last year, when my hair was still

light brown, the color of a rabbit,

now my head matches the coat.

I stare at myself in the mirror,

the way I look like a warning:

STOP

WRONG WAY

NO TRESPASSING

I am always thinking of myself

as a salamander

or a traffic signal

and never as a girl.

I wonder if any of Medusa’s

snakes were red.