Jody Zolli

It looked so lovely at first glance
All powdery and spun sugar sparkles
And if I’d just had to look it at
That, I thought, could work.

I recalled younger days
On sleds with friends, in snow forts
Being greeted by hot cocoa
On my triumphant return indoors.

But now it’s different, it’s an obstacle
A gelid thwart to everything I need to do
No longer a toy but a task.

Sadly, there was no miraculous displacement
No thousand marching mops carrying
Shovels instead of buckets
Trooping stolidly through on splintered legs
To spirit it all away.

There was just me.

And the wind was keening and cold
Whipping snow to cover the front steps
Threatening to peel the storm door from its hinges
Clearly wanting in.

I girded my loins for battle
Armoring myself for warmth and protection
And stormed the ramparts, shovel in hand.

Mere moments into the onslaught
The snow struck then stuck
In my eyelashes, down my boots, under my collar
As I let loose the dogs of war.

The snow so thick I lifted it off in layers
Moiled hard to get below the slick
That had stubbornly sealed itself to the pavement

In the end, I won
The foe, vanquished, lay in heaps
To both sides of the driveway
Parted like the red sea.

Legs aquiver, I lurched into the house
Cast peeled sodden layers to a pile
Sat, winded, wondering
If I had any hot cocoa mix.