Poem: "On Snow"

On Snow
Snow is falling softly o'er the ground,
covering the world for miles around.
There's a quiet peace in the air
as it drifts from up above us,
like a great white mantle;
spreading over field and roof
majestically superior, and aloof.
Tomorrow, maybe, we'll see the hollow
print of man and beast,
and more to follow;
after the midday feast there'll be
yet another covering
over every tree.
So stealthily it comes
when darkness falls.
Last year it covered all our walls;
and yet, like a dream, it fades away,
only to come another day,
just like a memory in our minds.
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh

I woke up to find that it was still snowing, and the snow cleared away yesterday has been replaced with yet more. When I was a child I saw the fun in it all, and wanted to go out and play in it, making snowmen and throwing snowballs; riding on a home-made sledge and getting warm from the sheer exuberance of all the exercise and enjoyment. Now that I am older I look at it, see the beauty of the undisturbed scenery, then worry that I shall fall if I go out in it.
How age changes your perceptions!
The above poem comes from my very first published collection of poetry, 'Memories' which was published in 1966, although it is now long out of print.