Snow Day

Our Nintendo Duck Hunt marathons
that follow our violation
of perfectly smooth snow surfaces
on any given snow day
warms the red raw hands,
defrosts the chapped cheeks.

Squeaky clean? Not even close!

Mud snow, salt snow, ice snow
all find their way to the carpeting
scratching wood floor
keeping sanity from
our OCD mom.

Outside, the snow is Swiss cheese,
blades of frozen grass sticking up in foot prints.
Slowly rotting logs peek out from behind
the chain fence,
and I remember that I should have chopped
them into wedges
before the first snowfall.
I’ll do it this summer,

I think as I blow into my cup of warmth,
temporarily fogging the glass sliding door
of the family room.