Now that the worst is over, they predict <br />Something messy and difficult, though not <br />Life-threatening. Clearly we needed <br /> <br />To stock up on water and candles, making <br />Tureens of soup and things that keep <br />When electricity fails and phone lines fall. <br /> <br />Igloos rise on air conditioners, gargoyles <br />Fly and icicles shatter. Frozen runways, <br />Lines in markets, and paralyzed avenues <br /> <br />Verify every fear. But there is warmth <br />In this sudden desire to sleep, <br />To surrender to our common condition <br /> <br />With joy, watching hours of news <br />Devoted to weather. People finally stop <br />To talk to each other - the neighbors <br /> <br />We didn't know were always here. <br />Today they are ready for business, <br />Armed with a new vocabulary, <br /> <br />Casting their saga in phrases as severe <br />As last night's snow: damage assessment, <br />Evacuation, emergency management. <br /> <br />The shift of the wind matters again, <br />And we are so simple, so happy to hear <br />The scrape of a shovel next door.<br /><br />Phillis Levin<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-blizzard/
