Scrunchy Smunchy Snow

Scrunchy Smunchy Snow

Wow,
four inches of snow
last night!
I have been doing
a lot of walking in it.
I missed one event
because of it,
but found another
at the bottom
of the hill
where we live;
trying to help people
get their cars going
straight—
but to no avail.
As Ken Kesey once said,
your car either
goes up the hill,
or it stays down the hill.

The afternoon’s walk
revealed all the stalled cars
of last night
gone,
but some new ones
sitting crosswise
in the road.
Kind of reminded me
of my Army days in Alaska.

But
last night’s walk was fun,
listening to
the different kind of
crunching sounds
footsteps make
depending on whether
I trod on newly fallen stuff
or the broken ice bits.

The shadows
of the falling flakes
under the street lights
made the surface of the snow
look like they were
teeming with crazed insects.

I love walking
in the cold air
and looking at
the white blanket
that covers all.

The snow on the trees
creates
a lacy fringe,
framing the lake
and the sight
of Mercer Island
on the other side.

Doug Palmer 2007