Challenging Poetry

Belarus: Belovezhskaya Pushcha

in the forest,
where trees grow
two hundred years tall,
and wolves still howl
in the shadows—
their breaths warm,
Father Frost lives.
his home is made
of fairy lights and
his beard weighs
almost as much as his robe—
fur and brocades in reds and golds.
I met his daughter once.
the Snow Maiden
peered in my window
as I drifted near sleep,
and left a gift five feet deep
on my front lawn.

Author's Note ▶︎

One of the interesting things I found when I researched was that although Belarus doesn't have its own tradition of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden, they have a year round residence ( http://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/residence-of-father-frost )inside Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, which is all that remains of a primeval forest. http://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/belovezhskaya-pushcha
Unlike Santa Claus, Father Frost doesn't come in secret. Instead, he brings a bag of gifts with him as he knocks on a classroom or a residence. He is often accompanied by the Snow Maiden, who is his daughter.