First Snow

You can't hear snow
falling
Its mercy is its silence
To experience snow
falling
You have to stop and look
away from the screen
Away from the world's insistence
That what is outside
doesn't matter.

I watched the snow this morning.
I'd look and look away
It didn't scream or yell or beep
OR ALARM IN ALL-CAPS
The pristine snow beckoned lightly

When snow first falls
Not dirty yet
Not heavy
Or icy
Or packed with dog pee
And exhaust fumes
Refuse from a weary world

Even though I am cold
I wrap the day around me
like a blanket
As the snow blankets the frozen ground
I blanket myself
Staring outside
For just a few moments of silence
Waiting in hope of another Christmas