New Poem

First Snow

December, like a torrid romance,
rolls in and takes over with its granular
white beauty, making the ordinary extraordinary,
only to harden overnight and become dirty slush
by dawn’s early light.

Look how it demands respect,
makes a city groan and grimace
at the mere mention, only to send weathermen
and school kids into unfettered delirium

how it dredges up images of Frost and Dickens,
holiday memories on 34th Street,
when, in fact, it turns vehicles into bumper cars
and roads into beds of salt.

A torrent of snowball fights follows—
those complex lumps of packed snow
hiding ice hard as doorknobs,
hurled from the arm of a gangly teen.

What it is about the first snow
that makes our own dreams edible
as we hold out our cold, red tongues
against a gray sky?

How easy it is to believe in God,
or miracles, when nothing else adequately explains
the wonder of it all.

Comments

Unknown said…
"What it is about the first snow
that makes our own dreams edible"

That just captures the feeling so perfectly...

I am jealous: all you mid-west and Easterners are writing snow poems...We've got summerish weather here. :-(
January said…
I'd gladly trade you this cold, New England weather for an 80-degree day any day of the week and twice on Sunday!
Anonymous said…
Nice to see a snow poem that's not all about unreserved beauty. I don't miss winters. I like how you're able to describe the less fun aspects of winter and still end on an optimistic note.
Anonymous said…
"Look how it demands respect,
makes a city groan and grimace
at the mere mention"

...my favorite lines. I love the snow day part of working at a college, but man oh man, do I hate the wintertime!!
Rethabile said…
I have many favourite lines, though I detest winter. Original.
Catherine said…
It's a good thing we don't get much snow here, given how poorly insulated NZ houses are - but then, if we got more snow, maybe our houses would be better built.
We're just coming into summer now and it looks like being a warm one.
I enjoyed the poem very much
Maithri said…
Beautiful, just beautiful.

You have the gift.

Sending peace that falls like snow,
and covers the world
without exception,

M
Anonymous said…
I love this! you capture the first snowstorm so well!
I liked: "December, like a torrid romance,
rolls in and takes over with its granular
white beauty, making the ordinary extraordinary,
only to harden overnight and become dirty slush
by dawn’s early light."
Ananda said…
hi january. i just discovered your wonderful snow poem. i love this passage:

"What it is about the first snow
that makes our own dreams edible
as we hold out our cold, red tongues
against a gray sky?

How easy it is to believe in God,
or miracles, when nothing else adequately explains
the wonder of it all."

for me i think it is the silence of the first snow and the way the snow just falls into place as a nice blanket. it all happens in such natural order. you know mankind had nothing to do with it. a state of grace and awe...

peace and poetry, ananda

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