I grew up in southern California
Where winter is just a time for
Football to basketball
And foggy mornings
And a slight dip in temperature.
I loved the gloomy days as
Food for melancholy tales
A break in the brightness
Of the sun, a reverie.
When I moved to Illinois
I fell in love with winter.
Awestruck, unable to
Take my eyes off the
Icy powdered-sugar expanse
Where roads and curbs
Grass and sidewalk
Disappeared beneath the gently
Falling flakes.
And now the winter of my life
Whitened by experience
Frosted by wisdom and promise
With excitement and freedom
Is calling,
Beckoning me to fulfill
The reveries of youth
The bounty of travail
To shine like summer’s sun.
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