Snow Day

Snow Day   

By Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,   

its white flag waving over everything,

the landscape vanished,

not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,   

and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,

schools and libraries buried, the post office lost   

under the noiseless drift,

the paths of trains softly blocked,

the world fallen under this falling.

In a while, I will put on some boots

and step out like someone walking in water,   

and the dog will porpoise through the drifts,   

and I will shake a laden branch

sending a cold shower down on us both.

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,   

a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.   

I will make a pot of tea

and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,   

as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,   

the Ding-Dong School, closed.

the All Aboard Children’s School, closed,   

the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,

along with—some will be delighted to hear—

the Toadstool School, the Little School,

Little Sparrows Nursery School,

Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School   

the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,

and—clap your hands—the Peanuts Play School.

So this is where the children hide all day,

These are the nests where they letter and draw,   

where they put on their bright miniature jackets,   

all darting and climbing and sliding,

all but the few girls whispering by the fence.

And now I am listening hard

in the grandiose silence of the snow,

trying to hear what those three girls are plotting,   

what riot is afoot,

which small queen is about to be brought down.

       A poem is a great way to easily capture a feeling, thought, or emotion. Snow Day by Billy Collins captures my thoughts on this time of year.

Who doesn’t love a day when you wake up and find snow covering the ground, the world around you completely whited out, and school closed for the day!? I certainly do! A snow day is a day that is meant to be a freebie to relax and play and not have a care in the world. Many times its a nice day off from the stress and work of school. The line that says “ the dog will porpoise through the drifts” reminds me so much of my own dog in the snow, using a whipping like motion like a dolphin just to get through the snow. I just love snow and everytime it snows I get that excited feeling, like that feeling you get on christmas morning before you open presents, that’s how excited I get about snow.

I think that Snow Day is a poem that can bring out the youth in all ages. Something as simple as snow can bring back fond memories of spending a day trapped with snow. I really hope that this year we will have at least one snow day so we can all experience that excitement and happiness of a SNOW DAY!!