It Takes a Certain Kind of Person to Ruin Snow - 02/24/11

It's snowing,
snowing in February,
angels of ice glittering from the sky
with the grace of stars,
in flurries
in gallops
in dance steps
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3
I throw my head back
and let their cold kisses hit my tongue
before the bickering
and the fighting
overwhelms my senses,
cuts off the feel of the cold
and smell of the water
and the taste of the flakes
and the sight of stars falling to the earth
with a dance.

So, broken and breaking even more,
we walk home
past the pretty, purple strip club.
Woman on their break,
their cigarette smoke meeting the snowflakes,
dashing together like star-crossed lovers,
but eventually both dying;
past light posts that illuminate the snow drift,
showing each dancer in her own spotlight,
then each flickering off stage;
past spouses holding hands
with their children laughing.

Snowflakes hit the ground and melt
but the atmosphere my family creates
makes it feel like they turn to water
before they can even hit my face.