Monday, June 27, 2016

It's Been a Long Winter

It’s been a long winter
  And another storm is raging outside
The power is out this Christmas morning
  No wrapping paper litters the floor this year
  No tree fills the window view

As a family we slept huddled together in the living room
To silence our hunger we eat Pop-Tarts and dry cereal
The drifts block the doors
Cell phones are on low battery mode
  But it doesn’t matter
  No service blinks at the top

I see the fear in my little ones’ eyes
My wife sends a question with a look,
 “What do we do?”

It’s been a long winter
  And another storm is raging outside
There are small flames in our neighbor's windows
The battery operated radio is just static
  Until we find a voice on an a.m. station
He tells us that this is the worst storm in years
  As if we didn’t know

I wonder if I have the Faith to wait it out
 Or should I grab a shovel and a scarf?
My wife produces a cassette tape
The joyful music feels like a scream in the grey sunshine
I see a small wisp as I breathe out

My oldest daughter has a book
Everyone has a blanket
Then our heads snap up in shock
  As a howl fills the space
There is a pack of wolves running between the houses
  Snipping at each other
  Sniffing the wind
  On sits atop the drift in front of our patio doors
I shrug in amazement toward my family

It’s been a long winter
It is Christmas morning
Another storm is raging outside
Instead of wrapping paper on the floor
We have wolves at the door