I woke up this morning to snow, snow, snow! That may not be so unusual for those of you in most of the country, but to us in South Louisiana, this never happens. It’s never happened in my 42+ years of living here. The prediction was for 4-8 inches, and I believe we have reached the higher mark. I’m sure it’s a problem for some because our systems are not prepared for this, but I’m enjoying all the texts of photos and videos of my grandchildren. I’m staying warm and safe.
Here’s a gallery of photos:
Winter Storm Enzo Pantoum
Flakes of white flutter in the wind
as snow layers over green.
Festival of inches is a historical event–
One hundred years before snow returns.As snow layers over green,
dim light shines on bayou brown.
Will snow return in a hundred years?
“This snow is awesome!”Dim light shines on bayou brown;
Old boots from a dusty box I found.
“This snow is awesome!”
The world stops, watches, and listens.Old boots from a dusty box I found
stomp in a festival of inches, a historic event,
while the world stops, watches, and listens
as flakes of white flutter in the wind.Margaret Simon, draft
Reflections on the Teche 
I need to send this to my friend (who happens to be my cousin’s wife). She grew up in Biloxi and was telling me about the snow today.
It was epic. Hasn’t happened since the 1800’s.
LOL! Mardi Gras Snow Queen…that’s the best!
I love how you embrace the surprise “layer over green”! And so glad you took time to draft a poem. I really like the format with all the repetition. Stay warm!
I love how you embraced the surprise “layer on green”. So glad you took time to write a poem, too! Great format and great repetition!
Wow – I think you have more snow than we have here in Minnesota. Although it was -20 this morning when I got up. Enjoy that snow while it lasts.
The pantoum makes a wonderful winter form for this epic snowfall! One of my daughters who moved to Las Vegas told me today that she misses the snow – – the way “the world shuts down.” I hear a lot of that in this line from your poem: The world stops, watches, and listens. There is something so sacred and peaceful about being home. I’m so glad you got to enjoy it today, and it looks like you may be snowed in for a few days.
Yay, snow! Your photos are beautiful! Did Albert like the snow? Most dogs love playing in snow. I love your pantoum poem. I like how your first two lines sound with the f alliteration, t consonance, the repetition of the word in in wind, the repetition of er, the long o rhyme in snow and over, and the long a rhyme in flakes and layers. I lover the excitement in the line, this snow is awesome! I like how you turned the snow in 100 years into a question in the second stanza. In the third stanza I like the alliteration of b in bayou, brown, boots, and box. I like how all the s sounds stand out in that stanza. Your last line “The world stops, watches, and listens.” is the truth because I listened to it in the news! Nice rhyme in brown and found. In the last stanza I like “festival of inches”, which is clever.
I saw the news last night, which said southern LA is going to receive snow! I immediately thought of you and how happy you would be to see snow! We only have about four inches here, but at least it looks like winter with snow. Tomorrow is going to be colder than the last two days have been with possible wind chill temperatures -25 degrees until Wednesday at 10 AM! Our youngest daughter, Heather who started her 1st year teaching music and orchestra this school year, teaches at West Irondequoit School District, which is right above Rochester, NY. She texted me that they have no school tomorrow because it’s supposed to be -20 degrees there, which is too cold for students to walk to school. They have a lot of walkers. She’s excited to have her 1st snow day (no school) as a teacher.
When she did her student teaching in south Buffalo, her school district had three snow days because they had a blizzard with about 4 feet of snow that fell in a day and a 1/2. It was a special weather event because the Great Lake Erie Lake hadn’t frozen yet and they were getting high winds and the right conditions to make a lot of snow!
Enjoy your snow!
I’m so excited for you! I talked to a friend in Houston today and they had 3 inches which is a rare treat for them. Our snow event from almost two weeks ago was so small that I felt cheated. And what we got fell at night, so we didn’t get to watch it fall which I love. But it’s been so cold that we still have a bit of snow in the front yard. They’ve had so many snow days, remote days, and late starts that my daughter’s convinced her life will never get back to normal. They headed out at normal time this am, but sent them home an hour early. And they had Monday off for MLK and next Monday is a teacher prep day, so it will be February before they have a full week of school. Teachers’ and kids’ delight, parents’ anguish.
Margaret, what a beautiful pantoum to celebrate this once in a hundred year snow storm. I’m guessing that there was no school today. I love the little Mardi Gras snow queen.
Margaret, you and your grandchildren must have been amazed by the snow. The photos do show this. Miss Mardi Gras Queen seems to enjoy the outing to delight children.
Festival of inches is a historical event–Great line and the pantoum was the right format for your poem that I have read now for the third time.
What a wonder of nature to witness, Margaret. There seems to be at least 6″ of snow at the beaches of the Outer Banks here in NC. I adore pantoums and yours flows so beautifully, conjuring the sense of joy and awe that only snow, and especially such a historic one, can bring. Metaphorically – the impossible is possible. It’s s good thing to hold onto these days.