I.
We are serious about snow
in Wisconsin.
Respectful yet wary.
Appreciative when appropriate.
Never fawning.
We know there is a fine line
between beauty and severity.
Although spring always arrives
eventually,
the snow never fully melts
in our prepared and weary hearts.
II.
Once you finish school,
a snow day is no longer
a miraculous gift
from a guardian angel
who also hates Algebra tests.
A snow day becomes a sign
of incompetence,
bad city planning,
a culture of blame-shifting,
a lack of true grit.
“I came to work, why didn’t
the government?”
“Where do you think this is? Florida?”
When beauty is viewed as an impediment
you have grown too old
to deserve a snow day.
American Nomad 