In The Night I Dreamed of Snow
On the first day of winter,
 the earth awakens
to the cold touch of itself.
Snow knows no other recourse
except 
this falling, this sudden letting go
over the small gnomed bushes, all the emptying trees.
Snow puts beauty back
into the withered and malnourished,
into the death-wish of nature and the deliberate way
winter insists
on nothing less than deference.
Waiting all its life, snow says, Let me cover you.
– Laura Lush
Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.
NICE
Yes, please, cover me with snow!
Oh that is so lovely~thank you for sharing such a sweet simple poem. I do miss the snow. Where has it gone? I know it used to snow here…and alot at times, and regularly. Now it seems a rare occurence with our winter weather leaning more toward “wintry mixes” and ice storms. Snow….where are you, waiting all your life to cover us?
Beautiful!