earth note 134

daydream big snow 2010

a winter move
salt lake city to northern minnesota
started christmas day 1983 or four

wyoming a foot of ice
on the interstate
a rental truck towing a pickup
an Ltd station wagon following
close behind
dad you always pick
the craziest times to move
the boys kept mocking
dreams get lost all the time
was what i thought
but couldn't say
let their dreams stay young

it was cold enough for ice fog
when the right front wheel
started shaking
our lucky day
to be near
a snow-drifted rest stop
& desperate exit

lucky again to have a lug wrench
tighten a loose wheel
& keep on rolling
there wasn't much choice
every motel filled
every dollar allocated
every gallon of gas planned

every darkness brought
a magic sky
milky way & northern lights
nebraska open arms
western swing on the radio
the snow held off
til we hit the minnesota border

tamaracks poplar white birch
frozen bogs
wild swamp grass stalks
milky way brighter
whispers secret messages
to the fishing shacks
frozen lakes vast & free
defy all categories

the homestead wasn't much changed
from when we left five years earlier
there was dry wood
in the cellar
we all pitched in
re-started
with our first fire
of a long winter

--- e b bortz