An Old Man Defies Death with a Snow Shovel
It snowed
all night
the temp
dropped to
zero the
moon came
out &
the alarm
went off.
He rolled
out of
bed into
his clothes
put on
his boots
lit a
cigarette &
went out
the door
into darkness.
He smiled
at the
moon in
the maple
tree snapped
up the
shovel &
stepped off
the porch,
shoveled
straight to
the sidewalk
cut left
& shoveled
clear to
the corner,
U-turned &
shoveled back
to his
walkway.
A stabbing
pain under
his rib
cage made
him light-
headed &
he fell
face-down
in the snow.
He let
the good
earth
give him
mouth-to-mouth
& then
rolled on
his back,
made a
snow angel
lit another
cigarette
flirted with
the moon
some more
stood up
& continued.
Back in
the house
he stood
with a
cup of
black coffee
in the
dark staring
out the
window at
the snow,
glistening
in moonlight.
