\nTo surface from dreams in a bed, burrowed beneath blankets and comforters,
\nthe change of state from cold to warm is all that matters, and you think
\njust one more minute snuggled here before you face the chill. Just one.<\/p>\n
Places we slept as children: they warm us in the memory.
\nWe travel to an inside from the outside. To the orange flames of the fireplace
\nor the wood burning in the stove. Breath-ice on the inside of windows,
\nto be scratched off with a fingernail, melted with a whole hand.<\/p>\n
Frost on the ground that stays in the shadows, waiting for us.
\nWear a scarf. Wear a coat. Wear a sweater. Wear socks. Wear thick gloves.
\nAn infant as she sleeps between us. A tumble of dogs,
\na kindle of cats and kittens. Come inside. You\u2019re safe now.<\/p>\n
A kettle boiling at the stove. Your family or friends are there. They smile.
\nCocoa or chocolate, tea or coffee, soup or toddy, what you know you need.
\nA heat exchange, they give it to you, you take the mug
\nand start to thaw. While outside, for some of us, the journey began<\/p>\n
as we walked away from our grandparents\u2019 houses
\naway from the places we knew as children: changes of state and state and state,
\nto stumble across a stony desert, or to brave the deep waters,
\nwhile food and friends, home, a bed, even a blanket become just memories.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it only takes a stranger, in a dark place,
\nto hold out a badly-knitted scarf, to offer a kind word, to say
\nwe have the right to be here, to make us warm in the coldest season.<\/p>\n
You have the right to be here.<\/p>\n
__________________________________________________<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Neil-Gaiman.jpg\")
<\/a>Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theatre, and films. His works include the comic book series <\/em>The Sandman and novels <\/em>Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and<\/em> The Graveyard Book. As an ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he has been lending his voice to the catastrophe of inhumanity we call a \u201crefugee crisis\u201d since its dark dawn.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"