PRAYER FOR SNOW
Coat this ugly world in tumbled ice cream
so I can glut my eyes on something pretty,
tromp endless, forgetting the existence of toes.
Give it loud sunlight, if it has to leave,
sent off in a parade of blue heat
to merry grace every storm sewer with
trilled tongues bright as new pennies,
waterfall of coins rushing underground.
I swear if I can just have this one day
of perfect scenery, I’ll stop complaining
for at least two, stop reminding you of
stacking bodies, evil lofted on a flag pole,
charging down what’s good to leave it
trampled, fleeting as snow flees
when the sun pretends to bring us light.
—from Poets Respond
February 23, 2021
__________
Ann DeVilbiss: “Snowy weather is a fraught thing for many, dangerous to houseless people and drivers and any creature who needs heat to survive. But I also love snow viscerally, and living in Kentucky means I hardly ever get to enjoy it. Last week’s snowy weather felt like an incredible gift during a rough time, a moment of beauty to transform the world so we all had something new to look at for a while. Even as I anxiously checked on family in Texas to make sure they were doing OK without power, I walked and walked through all the drifts, feeling happy. Joy is always complicated by the edges of disaster, but I still try to clutch it when I can.” (web)
