It snowed overnight and the roads are a fright,
So the schools are all closed ~ on a Friday!
Mums and dads can’t drive, their cars slip and slide
So its family fun on a school day.
Dogs in bright jackets are leaping for joy
Taken out for a walk, on a school day.
Babies and toddlers peep out of their prams
They’re going to the park, on a school day.
Tiny tots muffled in mittens and hats,
Squeal in delight, on a school day.
Giggling girls, hugging their friends,
Slide down the hill, on a school day.
Teen terrors in hoodies become little boys
Throwing snowballs at girls, on a school day.
Steep slopes draw the daring on sledges and boards,
They hurtle downhill, on a school day.
I sit at the window and, like falling snow,
My thoughts pile up into drifts.
My smiles turn to tears at the sights and sounds
Of my school days, as the frozen scene shifts.
Of ink wells and blotters, of wafers and milk,
Of chalk boards and outside loos;
Of walking to school by the RiverTyne,
Of castles, and coalmines and ships.
And then there are people, who wave as they pass,
Loved aunties and cousins and friends
A sister and brother no longer in touch
A mother and father I mourned.
There are icicles hanging near a frozen stream,
The snow covered branches are bending
The field is a snow frosted wonderland
Its beauty my broken heart mending.
Heavenhappens 
Oh, you list of snow day activities got me to remember my own joy of a ‘free day’ as a child. And then your memories turn sad. Memories are often a bit bittersweet. I really like your detial of the snow day, the different reactions by different groups of people. The ‘tough guy’ teen boys turning into little kids, delighted with throwing snowballs is especially good. And I also like the details about your own school days. This is just lovely.
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Oh thank you that is a lovely comment. I have a soft spot for the young teen boys who hang around trying to look hard. I know that some of them do awful things but mostly they are just little boys confused by all the changes they are going through as they grow into men. The bittersweet memories often bring out the best poems I think.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment x
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You have definitely captured a no-school day!!! I used to love those days when I was a kid and also when I was teaching. Smiles. Nothing like a good snow day.
And I love the childhood school memories that a snowday triggered in you….a very nice poem.
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Thank you very much. I wrote this poem so quickly ~ it just flowed out of me. I think it is wonderful when that happens so I knew it was a special poem for me. I wish my muse was triggered more often!
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Sounds lovely, a no school snow day…would never happen here… it’s sad to think back when you miss such days but glad to see they can also dry tears.
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Do you mean you never get snow or your country is so organised that you can cope with it? Here in the UK everything stops when snow falls as if it was never seen before! Crazy but rather charming. The impromptu days off are great for the children and their families.
Thanks for reading, I enjoyed visiting your site x
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I see I’m not the only one who wrote of winter– although, day off or not, I’m glad we don’t get the white stuff here in Rio– just saying 🙂 ~peace, Jason
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I hope you are enjoying the celebrations in Rio! I heard about the Pope’s visit there on our radio. The werather here is hot at he moment but there will be snow again this winter I think.
My son’s partner is from Brazil ~ my only connection with your fabulous country!
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But a connection it is, nonetheless! We are much enjoying the cool, as the thought of hot and summer makes me wince! ~peace, Jason
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What a splendid bit of nostalgia…I like the way you start out in present day and then slip into a list of what it was like before and all you remember and have lost … a very nice poem.
http://leapingelephantenterprizes.blogspot.ca/2013/07/pages-of-sorrow_25.html
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Thank you so much. That is just how my mind worked that day! The drifting snow seemed to take my thoughts with it and the past loomed clear as day. The words just flowed. I love it when that happens. Sadly not very often!
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It’s poignant and nostalgic but sad too for its memories ~ May your broken heart be mended ~
And nice to meet you ~
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Thank you and lovely to meet you! My broken heart is much better now as I have a wonderful grandson Stanley, who has featured in my blog quite a bit! He is a joy to be with and fills my life with love and sloppy kisses x
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Oh, the nostalgia in this. Thanks for sharing it!
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Yes indeed, I drifted back on the snow to the past and some happy memories tinged with sadness. The poem flowed out of me.
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Oh.. that was a sort of painful read for me.. Nostalgic and emotional writing. 🙂
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Yes it was quite a painful day although I was happy to see the children playing. It is strange how minds sometimes drift to sad thoughts and poems flow from them.
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Yes, this is a relief for those of us in the hot part of the world. It flows so well and the sequencing of what happens on those days is perfect.
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Thank you x I’m glad you liked it. It is ;ovely to think of cooling snow on such a hot day!
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Your cool breeze is warming my heart, and that’s a great place to start! Lots of fun here on your school day off !!
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Ah that’s a nice comment x thank you!
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smiles… a bit of snow can change the face of the world and also touch us in a melancholic way… i remember when i was a kid one day there was ice rain and there was no school because no car or train or bus could drive and we kids were taking out the skates and were ice skating down the main road of our town…what fun!! still remember it like it was yesterday…smiles…thanks for sharing this at dVerse – and welcome… smiles
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Glad it brought back happy memories x So hot at the moment in the UK it was nice to use a cooling poem for my first entry into dVerse! Hope to see you again!
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ha. so fun…i love a no school day…especially now that i am teaching cause that means i am home as well…smiles…love all the fun in your poem…the dog jumping around excited…the line on the terror in hoodies esp poignant considering the news of late…and being 90+ degrees out, it was nice to think of snow as well…smiles.
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So glad you liked it x I was a teacher too before I retired but always managed to get into school even when the children could not manage it! Snow days were the best though ~ great fun!
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