snow day

So while I was out sick and trapped by the snow, I went for a short walk with the dog, saw many things, including pastoral scenes and a burial, and as I lay in the snow staring up at the sky, the following poem came to my mind. I was thinking about how therapeutic the simpler things in life, like warm sunshine and fruit from one's own apple trees, can be.


Economy

While walking the dog today in the snow
I, like every other American, was thinking about the economy,
Having just felt the first personal effects of it.

As we followed the path of the tractor
Up the ridge to the cow field where the animals were feeding
I thought about the economy

As I looked at the dilapidated hand-built structure
Where someone long ago once dwelt
I thought about economy

As I halted out of respect at the end of our lane
Where loved ones in black laid their wife, sister, mother to sleep
In the cold hard family ground
I thought economy

As I entered our drive, staring out at the mountains
Who once knew no development but farms
I thought about economy

As I, like a child, dropped down in the snow
And made one snow angel after another
After another
After another
To surprise the neighbors when they ventured out
To greet me from my tall window
I thought about comfort

Lying there in the snow, oblivious to wind and cold
Feeling the sun’s warmth through the bare branches above,
Anticipating freshly baked bread decked with summer’s preserves
Laughing at the dog’s wonder at the snow, at my wild now inanimate behavior

I thought about economy; I felt content.


2/4/09