Friday, December 12, 2008

Snow

A heavy snow, and men my age

all over the city 
are having heart attacks in their driveways,


dropping their nice new shovels 

with the ergonomic handles

that finally did them no good.


Gray-headed men who meant no harm,

who abided by the rules and worked hard

for modest rewards, are slipping


softly from their mortgages, 

falling out of their marriages.

How gracefully they swoon—


that lovely, old-fashioned word—

from dinner parties, grandkids, 
vacations in Florida.


They should have known better

than to shovel snow at their age.

If only they'd heeded


the sensible advice of their wives

and hired a snow-removal service.

But there's more to life


than merely being sensible. Sometimes

a man must take up his shovel

and head out alone into the snow.


George Bilgere

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