First Snow (a poem)

Morning light blinding bright

Through a frost crackled window

Split the shades; could it be?

Tufts of grass sprinkled across a white sea

Trees gently frosted like cakes

Sugar snow layered over frozen arms

Icy fingers reaching for a dappled cloudy sky

A moment so stunning and silent,

So perfect and delicate

Are the diamond sparkles across the snow

You hold your breath

For fear of shattering the whole fragile scene

With a gust of air too forceful

Finally let out a sigh

As a brilliant red cardinal flutters by

Breaking the stillness

Step out into a new world

So beautiful, but so cold,

It knocks the warmth from your lungs

A small shiver, eyes now wide awake

Lights lined along icicled eaves

Splash childhood colors across pristine snow

You leave the first footprints along the front walk

Brush off the car, breath rising in puffs

Engine starts slow, sputtering in the crackling cold

Drive along a quiet winding road

Through winter woodlands dripping in snow

Garlanded in ice

And speckled with red berries and birds

A scene from a postcard

You can feel your heart beating

Everything has vanished by noon

Sun shines on a muddled green-brown world

Soft pattering of water drips

Puddles pooled in the rivets of the road

All that’s left

Are stubborn white freckles on the shoulder

A smile in your heart, and

Snowflakes dancing in your veins

As you drive homeward.