Winter, where are you?
    Have you abandoned us?
End of a snowless December,
    drought and tinder and strong winds–
fire danger high.

Winter, where are you?
    60 degrees, sunny as October.
December's been mostly 50s
    and nights nearly too warm
for the flannel sheets.

Where's our cold? our snow?
What happened to bundling up?
    to stocking caps and mittens?
to nights snuggling with each other
    and the cats?
Where are the snowflakes, snowfalls,
    snowfolks, snowballs?

Dear Winter,
    have we somehow offended you?
Are you skipping us this year?
    Or do you plan to wallop us come January?

If the latter,
    bring it, frigid friend!

Text and image © 2024 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.