Snow – Woodsmoke and Cardamom

Early Snowstorm

by Lucy M. Young

It had been warm that fall,
There had been very little frost.
The grass was lush and green in all the meadows.
The leaves, 'though shot with gold and scarlet,
Clung tightly to the branches,
And by Columbus Day, the farmers had not yet brought home 
the young stock
From the summer pasture on the mountain.

That night, October twelfth, without warning it turned cold.
The clouds built up with ominous intent.
A strong, cold north wind whistled 'round the chimneys
and the windows,
Then snowflakes started falling thick and fast.

All night it snowed.
The wind piled drifts of snow around the buildings.
The roads were clogged, we huddled in our homes.
Our thoughts and prayers were ever with the cattle 
on the mountain
With only trees for shelter from the storm.

At daybreak, soon as chores were done, the farmers came together
To try to find and bring their cattle home.
All day, through snowy woods and drifts, they searched the frigid mountain;
We waited and we worried and we prayed.

Long after dark we heard them coming through the frozen darkness;
'Though wet and cold and hungry, they were safe.
Not one was lost, they all came safely home.
We knew our prayers were answered -
God had been upon the mountain
And kept them safe throughout the stormy night.

March Snowstorm

by Lucy M. Young

All winter long we wished for snow,
  We children of the North;
Hopefully we scanned the skies,
  Perused the weather report.
The weather men predicted snow,
  But rain was what we got -
Dismal, dreary, icy rain,
  Our wishes were for naught.

Now it is March, the winter's gone,
  Spring flowers bloom everywhere;
And what is this I see without?
  Gay snowflakes fill the air!
The brown, bare ground has disappeared
  Beneath a soft, white spread;
The trees are dressed in fluffy lace,
  White icing decks my homestead.

I thank the Lord with all my heart
  For sending this late snowstorm
To hide the bleak, bare countryside,
  The brown earth to transform.
'Twill not last long, the sun will shine,
  The flowers will reappear;
The robins' songs will fill the air
  To tell us Spring is here.

Memories of Christmas

by Lucy M. Young

There was snow, always snow -
Crisp and creaky underfoot,
Gleaming silver in the moonlight,
Sparkling like crystals in the sun.

I recall the utter stillness of the night,
The vast star-studded sky,
And every year the Christmas star
Aglow above the eastern mountain
Just as it shone o'er Bethlehem so long ago.

I see my mother busy in the kitchen,
Christmas baking perfuming the air;
My father reading in the mellow lamplight
Beside a crackling fire;
My sisters whispering Christmas secrets,
So eagerly anticipating Christmas day.

Most of all I feel the steadfast love
That bound us all together;
The warm security of loving parents,
The peace and harmony and deep contentment
That filled our hearts with everlasting joy.



photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash