Silence of the first snow by John Gibson
This never happens in South Louisiana, a snow day. Yesterday, the weather man predicted a wintry mix. All schools in Acadiana were canceled for Friday.
Like an excited child, I have been up since 5:30 AM checking for snow…no. There is some ice accumulating on the deck, so I suppose it is a good thing little southern children are not having to stand outside and wait for buses that do not handle ice on roads well. Hey, I’m not complaining. I get a free day. But as I look at my father’s drawing of this beautiful silent scene of snow, I can’t help but wish I could see this in my own yard, if only for a few moments. There is something silent and magical about the first snow.
Snow Day
Snow fell silently through the night,
Tufts of a fluffy cotton-ball sweater.
I wake to a field of white.White-topped limbs reach out for light.
No one predicted this wondrous weather.
Snow fell silently through the night.Come to the window to see the fresh sight.
Cancel school. Let’s play together.
I wake to a field of white.Smooth pure canvas, all is right.
Each leaf a glass-encased feather,
Snow fell silently through the night.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
This poem is featured in my book Illuminate. Enjoy more Poetry Friday over at Tara Smith’s Site, A Teaching Life.
Reflections on the Teche 
Love your father’s artwork, love your gentle, mesmerizing poem. Wish I knew what the form is…but I can’t think of it now. I do wish you a little (a little!) snow to go with your Snow Day, Margaret!
Seeing a few flurries now mixed with the sleet and rain. I forgot what the form was. I looked up triolet and rondelet this morning. Not quite either of these, but some of the elements are the same. Thanks for stopping by today.
Lovely poem and art.
How pretty: “Each leaf a glass-encased feather,” I’m sure it’s nice to be inside today, even though you are didn’t get the beautiful snow you might have hoped for!
I love this, Margaret, & hope you had a wonderful ‘snow’ day!
“Each leaf a glass-encased feather,” such beautiful imagery!
Lovely poem with its repeating line. And the drawing captures the peaceful stillness of a walk in the snow. (I clicked to enlarge it; nice!)
“Each leaf a glass-encased feather” — beautiful image. I love the snow, Margaret (it’s flurrying right now). We have years in Maryland when there’s little snow, and other years when we have tons. I always miss it when we have a warm winter. Enjoy your beautiful snow day. I hope it doesn’t melt too quickly.
It’s snowing here right now, but on a Saturday, so no joy of Snow Day. And it’s not calm and peaceful — fun to watch the wind stirring flurries off rooftops.
Wow, the cold really is widespread! Here it’s been in the 70s at night, which is about as cold as I want to be! Lovely poem.
I love the gentle rhythm of your poem. And I echo you — we’d love to have a snow day! Crazy weather down on the coast last week!
Your poem brings back so many memories! As a fellow southerner, I feel your yearning, and also crave just a smidgen of those “Tufts of a fluffy cotton-ball sweater.” Love your clever blog post title too!