Winter Weather Advisory

The way you know it's snowing is to watch
Trees shimmer with a fine movement
Not theirs, notice dust thicken

On steps, etching yew needles silver.
The cats yawn, tuck noses under paws,

And for humans, too, there's nowhere to go
And nothing for eyes to do but follow snow's
Downflowing motes as soft and grave as seconds.

Its almost invisible flakes slide like silk
Into our restless consciousness—a simple
Motion of gravity we have to strain

To see, snow settling into arms of tree
Or mouth of earth wherever it happens to touch.

Do not close your eyes, but sense descent.
Listen: it whispers on the window glass:

This is the passage to silence. All will be white.

Copyright © 2003 Ann Silsbee All rights reserved
from Orioling
Red Hen Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission