The Death of Winter

Winter died
On the first day of April
Two months before
He was ready to go

The left side of his face
Kissed the Fourth of July
And the right side
Felt leaves falling against it

He remembered a time on an island
When the Summer showed up
To bring him into the water
And make love to him
While lying in a hammock

It had been years since he chased her
Across snow-covered landscapes
And rain-washed streets

He favored her sort of rain

Warm
Refreshing
Cleansing

He thought to himself
That he'd like to see her again
Before his last thaw

But she would not arrive
Until he was gone

That was the agreement

He brought himself to a small home
Where the windows had small cracks
That allowed him to walk in
Even though there was a fireplace
And an oven fired up for dinner

He went into the bedroom of the smallest son
Who was sick with a cold
That would take him out of school
For one day and one day only

The little boy was resting soup on his stomach
Slowly guzzling it down to make it last
While watching a rerun of a show
In black and white

The winter looked around the room
For he knew his time was short
And on a shelf he saw
Exactly what he was looking for

When the boy's mother came
To take his bowl
And make sure he was getting enough rest
She found him holding the snow globe
She'd bought him
When she was in Paris

Inside the globe was a young woman
Dancing with a young man
On a street in Paris
That had previously been freshly washed
With summer rain

But was now
Covered
In snow

'Well,' said the boy's mother, 'How did that happen?'

But the little boy just turned the snow globe upside down
Then right side up
And watched the young man and woman
Dance around
In the falling snow

And he thought to himself

They don't look cold
Isn't that funny?

They look warm
And happy