1967
On the frosty morning, preceding
The evening when the leopard lady will be seen lounging
On our bed, I'm half asleep when Will bends over
To kiss me goodbye, and as the howling of the wind
Catches my attention, I arise from our bed and
Lift the window shade, and what I see makes
My sunny spirit sink in dismay, because
Everything I see is as white as white can be ...
In less time than it takes to blink an eye
I know that this blizzard of mega proportions
Is sure to give me a heck of a time as soon as
My daily commute to my suburban school begins
And sure enough, within the hour
I find myself facing a headwind so strong as to
Make walking forward quite an effort while
A deluge of swirling snow creates
A whiteout so blinding that my eyes beg
To squeeze tightly shut and in addition to that
My buns fear freezing to death, because I'm dressed in
The latest fashion (miniskirt, pantyhose, mini coat) suggesting
My body has every right to question the state of my sanity
Thank goodness, I'm wearing a hat, leather gloves and boots!
One day when I'm a mother of three, who enjoys
Down hill skiing with my family, I'll have the good sense to
Protect my body from the elements by stuffing myself into
Long underwear, wool sockslol ong-sleeved, turtle neck tee shirts
Heavy sweaters, ski pants, insulated down jackets, hats with ear flaps
Mufflers, silk gloves inside insulated mittens and goggles
In fact, if you get so much of a glimpse of my nose
That's all you'll see of me as I cruise down the mountain, listening to
The Supremes, which encourages my body to
Maintain its inner balance and natural sense of rhythm when
The run grows too steep and the moguls loom
Almost as tall me; however, on this day, when
I'm a young, twenty three year old teacher, you can see me
Shivering at the bus stop after having pushed myself
Forward against blasts of icy wind, which had stung
Eyes until tears froze on my cheeks as I'd trudged my way through this
Mega snow storm in my valiant attempt
To get from the city to the suburbs in hopes of
Standing before my fifth grade class in a timely fashion ...
And as whipping gusts of wind assault my face, mixing
Snow with frozen tears that redden my cheeks
I can't help but wonder if my body will be
A solid block of ice, sliding into my classroom, because
The friggin bus is so late, causing my frustration to
Stand here, shivering and stomping my boots, forever, and
Once the bus finally comes and opens its door
I ascend the steps only to find that my spirit has
Reason to sink another notch, because
Sanding room only offers me a view, simulating
A fully packed tin of sardines, suggesting
No place for my frozen self to sit down, so squeezing myself
Into whatever little standing space is left, I hold onto
The vertical bar until we reach my stop, where, upon
Leaving the sardine can behind
I stiffly climb a flight of stairs only to find myself
Sandwiched inside a fully packed train that will deliver me to
Another bus stop where I'll wait outside, stomping
My feet in hopes of keeping my bare legs from
Freezing solidly together, and after waiting, seemingly forever, for
Another busload of tightly packed sardines, I'll squeeze into that tin
And stand until we reach the stop that lets me off one block
South of my school, which I enter two hours late only
To find that many of the teachers had not shown up, at all ...
And as there's no sign of this snow/sleet/wind storm
Letting up any time soon, right after lunch
The PA system informs us that this afternoon
Has been cancelled in hopes of allowing
The staff to make our way home before dark, which
Descends early, during winter gloom, and though
Pandemonium busts loose throughout my class, my
Attitude, upon hearing this announcement, can't help but
Bristle as thoughts of trekking back through
Gusts of icy wind, blasting swirling snow into
My eyes, flash through my mind, and imagining myself
Freezing into human icicle, at bus stops, again, my
Optimistic nature drops to zero on the spot until
My awareness of jubilance, erupting all around me
Reignites my spirit's exuberance, which
Causes my negative attitude to experience
A melt down, creating a contradictive smile as
The kid in me watches my class of ten year olds
Whooping it up with bursts of pure delight, and while
They're pulling on hats, coats, mittens and galoshes
I imagine thoughts of freedom dancing as sweetly as
Sugar plums through each of their heads ... I mean
Their moms, who, no doubt, dress as fashionably as
Is true of me, make good use of their noodles to
Ensure that their precious offspring are
Dressed warmly from head to toe ...
So go figure the contradictions of human nature, right?
So anyway, it's plain to see that
Thoughts of this storm (which makes
Chills run down my spine) offer
A room full of jubilant kids the key to unlocking
A treasure chest overflowing with snow in which to
Frolic through the rest of the afternoon, which
Would otherwise have been spent
Drumming young minds to absorb facts that
These kids have no clue will be of
Great use to them once they're
As old as twenty-three year old me
(And thus, can we clearly see how thoughts, which
Teen-aged guys fancied as great fun, would flood
My subconscious with tormented memories of amnesiac misery ...)
Ultimately, as the last of my high spirited, happily liberated
Fully-insulated-against-the-cold munchkins file out of
Our classroom door, I feel grateful for my freedom, too ...
I mean, knowing how long it took for me to arrive at school
Common sense suggests fortifying my spirit to ready itself to
Battle the icy elements for hours, again ...
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