Winter Snow

Michael O’Faolain

When snow covers deep the countryside
Everything changes and the road looks wide
For the babbling book looks slim
And the hedges have their mantle white and grim.

It looks as if the earth becomes the sky
As field and mountain become clearer to the eye
And night seems like day to see
Except for lake and ocean they are free.

The whole effect is quite taming to view
As the deer comes down the mountain to the ewe
The wily fox and badger are quite near
And the garden plot reveals the hare.

For birds there never seemed so many
The magpie and the pheasant all so canny
But the robin and the blackbird take the lead
To the homestead and another few to feed.

The snowman in the garden by the stream
So real as only children can dream
The road and path become a skating rink
And the hillside sees the toboggan in a blink.

The fire on the hearth seems more aglow
As if superior or an enemy of the snow
And style takes on a different mode
With clothing we look more like a toad.

All of nature finds its way about
But for the motorist it’s a time of doubt
With motorways so far and great
A simple act of nature and we must wait.

Like everything on earth it passed by
A sleeping purpose for a while
As spring awakens plant and root
Another stage of nature in youth.