Childhood

I used to love winter once
The snow would beckon us both
     With its shimmering
          glittering
               softness
Snowflakes would fall from the thick gray above
     Floating
          Dancing with the wind
You'd catch me silver faeries in your mittens
I'd laugh
     You'd laugh
          The wind would laugh so freely

Soon the snow no longer welcomes you
     I go alone
Now the wind no longer laughs
     Instead it howls
          a soft mournful sound
          The faeries are blown away.
I lose myself in the snowdrifts
     The snow is dull
          cold
               unforgiving
Where laughter once echoed
     silence roars.
Why, I ask, but you just say
     I can't always be there for you
Things change, my dear.

          - 5/28/00