224. When – Then
I wrote this today partly because my granddaughter needed a poem from me for the newspaper she’s putting out. But after I wrote it, I realized it was so true for me. I’m not truly a winter-lover. Sometimes I don’t mind winter and snow storms if I can stay in the house, which I can do now that I’m 79 and I can just say “I’m not going anywhere today.” But even so, there comes a time in winter when this poem kicks in. And today is that day.
—
When—Then
—
when the temperature drops
to nine point five
and the snow turns grey
at the edge of the road
—
when there’s no blue sky
for six days straight
and the branch breaks off
from the weight of the ice
—
when clouds hang heavy
and the wind whistles loud
then I just start counting
the days to spring
—
—–Ann Freeman Price
© Copyright 2012 Ann Freeman Price
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The deeper question is how many “When – Then’s” do you have in your life. How many of those situations are there for you where after three or four “when’s,” you find an almost automatic “then” kicks in.
Another example for me is when clutter starts to accumulate in my living space, and when it gets worse and worse, and when there are piles of stuff on the floor or on chairs, then, oh yes, then I start to freak out and get ahold of it, and have a day where the clutter gets re-organized and looks more ordered.
I’ll have to think about whether I have any more “When – Then’s.”
