the transformation of snow

A Snow Day

transformation:

nightly slowly moves into day,

and only a fitful, light drizzle

accompanies dawn as the temperature

hovers a bit above freezing,

slowly, inexorably, a consensus forms

among what falls to the ground,

the white stuff stops melting on the way down,

grass and roof, anything raised a bit above Mother Earth,

start to whiten, then the whitening speeds up,

snow continues through the day,

softening the lines where bare branches wait for spring,

by late afternoon, near a foot of white has fallen,

the ground decorated with a deep cover

of soft, undulating uniformity,

for now, the world is transformed

with a blurring wash of white

that entices the eye and challenges the foot,

as long as the power holds

and the wood releases summer into our Great Room,

we are cozy, and we love the snow, at a distance,

we love transformation in our spirit,

and the comfortable in our skin.

by Henry H. Walker

January 17, ‘18