Igloos in the Snow

A million flakes, on the backs of a million more

Scattered snowdrifts look like shipwrecks dotting the shore

Burrowed deep in my bones, is the chill in the air

Pirouetting flakes dance at the end of my stare

Sipping hot chocolate to keep from growing cold

Lost in the moment, traveling to days of old

As a kid, the chill never seemed to pierce my skin

I’d stack pail after pail of snow, wearing a grin

With the help of my brothers and my only sis,

We’d build an igloo to stem winter’s blistery kiss

We’d use the plow’s snow bank as the igloo’s main side

Finished, it was the perfect place for us to hide

I remember what it was like inside its shell

Staring upward, I was a living snow angel

It felt as though I was the last person alive;

A tiny bee, in charge of an abandoned hive

A secret ice cavern to share with my siblings,

Where imagination roams and cold never stings

Back in the now, I glance down at my hot cocoa

I have aged since those days of igloos in the snow

Maybe growing up does muffle the child within

So, why do marshmallows in my cup make me grin?

Because – they’re blocks of snow from my igloo that day

Seems my imagination never went away!

Merry Christmas to all!

December 2008 – Sheila Roy