Angels in the Snow
I went outside at night to catch a snowflake on my tongue
the way I always used to do when I was very young.
Eyes closed, I opened up my mouth and tilted back my head
when much to my surprise I caught a falling star instead.
It tasted just like moonlight did fifty years ago.
and as it melted on my tongue it took my heart back home.
It shone the whole way down my throat and I felt a wonder
growing from my middle and rumbling like thunder
until it just exploded in to gales of childish glee.
I spun ‘til I was dizzy then I dropped down to my knees
and fell far back in time into snows of yesteryear
and when I opened up my eyes the sky was hard and clear
as though seen through the filters of innocence and joy
where wheeling stars and northern lights sing but make no noise.
I swept my legs and arms back and forth and to and fro
and made a splendid angel print beneath me in the snow.
When I awoke next morning I thought it just a dream
I stood at my back window and I wiped away the steam.
and there it was, moonlit and clear beneath the flickering stars
a perfect little angel in the centre of my yard.
#126
Linda Studley 