A Snowy Birthday – 2019

Carol A. Hand

The super moon brightened the sky

on the night before my birthday

despite increasing cumulus clouds

promising another imminent storm

*

*

The snowiest February on record

was older than me on my birthday

yet the sight on the morning after

brought this year close to a tie

*

*

It seems all I’ve done is shovel snow,

grade student papers, and prepare classes

My yak trax are wearing thin with use

and my little car, White Pony,

is surrounded by growing piles of snow

*

*

Given the weather forecast for this week

we’re likely to set a new record

Ah, my aching back and shoulders

make me hope the meteorologists are wrong…

*

Yet I am grateful for so many things

The chance to work with colleagues
who genuinely care about students and teaching

The opportunity to work with students
who are eager to learn and think critically

Virtual friends whose creativity, passion, and kindness
bring blessings of beauty, laughter, and new knowledge

A long life that has brought me to an old house
in the northlands where I can marvel
at the beauty of tiny crystals and wonder
how many billions it takes to blanket the earth
for hundreds of square miles under three feet of snow

And the health and strength to shovel

and shovel

and shovel

wondering

if spring

will

ever

come

again

 

PS – If you’re curious to know how my car got the name “White Pony,” here are some links to older posts that tell pieces of the story:

https://voices-from-the-margins.blog/2015/01/01/reflections-on-winters-past/

https://voices-from-the-margins.blog/2015/07/25/la-joie-de-la-vie/