I'm no fan of the cold in almost any manner. I drink a lot of ice water, and there was a time that I would enjoy more than my fair share of frosty beers with friends. Given the job that I do, there is a high probability that I will end up standing on the roadside with some yahoo who either violated some traffic law that caught my attention, crashed their car, or has flagged me down to play yet another rousing game of "Let's Give the Cop the Stupidest Question Possible".
However, this time I'm not going to complain. As I said, there's enough of that to go around. Instead, I wanted to say a few lines about the power of nature and the cold.
The Losing War
On the morning walk it was daylight. Well, light
I could look directly at the sun, through the heavy clouds
And not even squint. A fuzzy white blur in the sky
Yet strong enough to have me squint at the snow piled along the street
You could call it a breeze that blew through the neighborhood
If by breeze you meant an icy knife
Cutting through layer upon layer of Nylon, cotton, wool
And into my very being. A breeze like that
My boots crackled and crunched
On the packed and tamped remains of previous snowfall
Easy to walk, less so to run and play with her
Treacherous with the hidden water frozen underneath
Warm inside the house we had breakfast
Watched TV shows and remarked to nobody on the shaking walls
And rattling windows. There was a brief flash of the lights
A blink in time as the Matrix reset itself
I'll end up out there today again
More than once I will brave the wind and muted sun
We will walk outside again to take care of the baser needs
Before she heads upstairs and I head out there
Man against the elements; it's a classic tale
We armor ourselves against Mother Natures onslaught
Taking up the fight everyday to get to work or store
In a battle that ultimately we never win
