If you’ve ever run with me in winter months, you know I’m a big fan of the Gaiter (also known as…neck warmers, fleecy necky things, snarfs). Living in Los Angeles until college, I wasn’t prepared for running in the cold. I started by borrowing ski gear from my mom. My neck has needed special attention since a bad case of Mono, so keeping it happy was top of the list. I loved the extra protection and warmth I got from the gaiters. Whether it was mental or physical (a bit of both), the neck warmer remains my secret weapon when temperatures drop.
Of course, when Mac mentioned an ode to the gaiter, I took her literally. Here is my love poem to this underappreciated (until now!) article of clothing. It’s a riff off of Craig Arnold’s Meditation on a Grapefruit.
Meditation on a Gaiter
To wake when all is possible
before the agitations of the day
have gripped you
To steal to the bathroom
feet fixed on tile ice
dissenting
To tug the cloth
past sleepworn eyes
rubbing away hope of relent
back under covers
To ease out
of doors so gingerly
a cloud of frosted air storming lungs
clean and sharp as pepper
To slide the hemline
over mouth and nose spouting fire
first with light steps
until all senses stir
And only then to sweat
So sweet
an addition
to the morning run a warmth
that follows me through dark winters
from mother passed to daughter
Courage to breathe in and meet the day
Spirit to breathe out and join it
