Acadiana in Louisiana has gotten a rare, historical snowstorm. Cajuns all around are reconnecting to their Canadian roots and building snowmen. This one was posted by a colleague at my school, Alice Suire.
It’s still bitter cold here, so the snow is sticking. Another snow day! For those of you not familiar with French, the word couillon means fool.
Snowman Elfchen
Snowman
On truckbed
Rare Louisiana snow
Old family traditions reinvented
CouillonMargaret Simon, draft
Please leave a small poem in the comments. Respond to other writers with encouragement. And stay warm!
Reflections on the Teche 
I’ve been watching people in the south enjoying the unusual snow event – lots of snowmen and snow angels. This guy looks like he is sporting cookie eyes and buttons. I borrowed “reinvented” to create this haiku:
snowman reinvented
in this place of warmth and sun
good enough to eat
Thanks, Margaret! Stay warm.
Rose, I looked at the picture again when I read your poem. Are those cookie buttons and eyes? “Warmth and sun” in your poem about the snowman is perfect. What a shock.
Cajuns can make a meal out of anything.
Rose, I like how you used the word “reinvented.” I thought they were cookie eyes and buttons, too. I was wondering if the mouth is a piece of pepper or candy? Perfect last line!
Margaret, I’ve seen so many snowmen the last two days! Houston friends were busy making snowmen. What a surprise. I was thinking of climate disruption this morning and appealing to the clouds to share!
Cloud full
Dropping snow tease
Louisiana now
California allow
Split the load, please
Fair pull
Those rhymes are great. I do still pray for California. What devastation!
The news seems to hold something new every day about climate change whether it be fires or frigid temps or unexpected snow. Sometimes it’s joyful, but more often than not, it’s devastating. I agree we need a “fair pull.”
Denise, I saw a clip of news tonight that a school had to evacuate because of fire. I thought of how scared the students and parents must be. My heart goes out to all who have lost their homes and/or lost family members including their pets. It is horrible. You are far away from there, right?
Your rhyme scheme is so clever; I love it. Tease is a great word there. Well, done. Yes, there does need to be a splitting of the load, especially for areas like southern CA.
Margaret, I enjoyed thinking about that word couillon in your poem. Clever and adds a layer to the idea of building snowmen in southern Louisiana.
What a great snowman! I thought they were cookie eyes and cookie buttons, too. Is the mouth a piece of pepper or candy? It’s great that kids and adults are enjoying the rare snow. I thought about the excitement of the students that have a snow day instead of a school day for the first time! (One time our girls entered a snowman making contest. They decided to make a snowcat instead of a snowman.)
Second snow day fun!
Let’s roll a snowman.
Let’s roll a snowwoman.
How ‘bout a snowcat?
How ‘bout a snowdog?
What else can we
make with snow?
Gail Aldous, draft
What a fun rhythm with the questions.
Thank you, Margaret.
Gail, those are fun questions. It makes me want to have snow to decide what I want to make! By the way, we are pretty far from Los Angeles, about 125 miles, so we haven’t experienced the smoke or ash from the fires.
Thank you, Denise. I’m glad you like the poem and I’m glad you are far away from the fires.
Love all the questions, Gail, as kids decide what to make. Could be the beginning of a picture book, I think.
Margaret, thank you for the great photo and fun! I love the line old family traditions reinvented and couillon is great for the last line.
One student took time out of her snow day to write a poem!
ready for a hug,
along with some hot chocolate in a mug.
as snug as a bug,
with the snow that we dug.
grab a heater and plug,
as you sit with your mug,
to watch your snowman shrug.
awaiting a hug.
Kailyn, 6th grade
Kailyn, how wonderful that you wrote a good poem on your day off from school! I love your rhyme and rhythm. I like how you took your poem full circle starting with a hug and ending with a hug. I’m happy that you had snow to play in. Thank you for your inspiration.