COME GENTLE SNOW
Come gentle snow and cloak the ground,
Shroud budding branches all around,
Let not one scent of spring be found,
Make flowers wait.
Come frost and freeze the throbbing juice,
Break March’s short and shaky truce,
No sprout nor songbird yet aloose,
Let spring be late.
Come wind and make the oak leaves hiss,
When they descend no one will miss
Their brittle shade — no artifice
Can bring them back.
Come night and steal the season’s gain;
The verdure will begin to wane
Despite the wealth of easy rain
If it stays black.
Come sleep and shield me from the past,
Help me forget her I loved last,
Wrap safely me in sanctums vast,
Away from pain.
NOTES: We haven’t had that wonderful March snowstorm here in Western Washington yet this year. So I’ll have to settle for a photo from last year.
We had some snow in late February, but I’m still pulling for a blizzard in March.
You see, I’m allergic to March here — the alder and cedar pollen are not kind to me.
Nearly 40 years ago when I wrote this poem protesting spring, I was an unrequited, tragic romantic. O woe was me! I thought I’d never be happy again. Of course, I was wrong.
If I can just make it through March to April, I should be fine.
Poetic Champions 