february

ignoring the fact that i had
to drive in it,
the snow made everything clean,
erased all the sand and salt and
grey of winter, covered the leftover
frozen slush of past storms with a
fresh layer of white, hydrated the
air so it didn’t hurt to breathe
anymore
for the short walk into the building,
i reveled in the light, cool air on
my face, tinged with that feel,
that scent of impending snow
that no one can quite explain
this february world of bare, gnarled
branches and off-grey sky
is transformed overnight into
a cloud, into a down pillow ripped
open and shaken over all the trees,
a new set of glittering, white leaves