West Coast Envy (Chicago's Winters)

I said that I would post this when snow first touched the ground here in Chicago. There was that one weird day earlier in November/December where there was snow but soon after it returned to tropical weather. To usher and prepare for Chicago's infamous winter, I wrote this poem (it's set around the holiday season so it is a bit dated). 


Mother Nature, being too ashy from the lack of lotion,

Sheds her skin, epidermal layers flaking off onto the Earth, causing a commotion, down below

As white blankets fall from the sky, covering hibernating vehicles

Screams of anger emit from worker’s lips, cursing the new layer they must clear off

As they cough up steam, taken from midnight closing coffee shops

Canines force their masters to take them on walks, their thick hides providing heat

While crisp air continually cuts caustically into the soft flesh of human meat,

Freezing insides and innards, transforming the outpour of our hearts into a hardened lake,

While thoughts of fatigue and depression ice-skate across the surface

The pavement groans as holes the size of pots crack and waste away at their pristine shine

Peppermint mochas and holiday CDs attempt to cleanse the bitter grime,

The muck and soot piling on the pure sheets of flake

As if bipolar temperatures aren’t enough, Mother Nature believes third time is the charm

Chicagoans get no break from this storm,

The only break we get is when we pump it twice, while skidding across the floor

Just when you think you’ve seen the last snow fall,

A new blizzard is unleashed, and you’re forced to crawl out of bed earlier,

Taking heavy picks and tools, hacking away at the new scales that have surrounded your car

Feeling salty as the boxes of sodium are emptied on streets and driveways, needing to be filled once more

But if only the brackish substances would melt our hearts as well,

For our souls no longer become wells, but leaky faucets

Dripping out a few dashes of compassion, while we start lashing out at the setbacks, this winter causes

That all of sudden, giving your last dollar to the man with the cardboard sign, is not benign

Thinking of your own survival,

As steam fogs up our glasses, we become forget about the masses,

Eyes blind to others, while we try and care for those we know

And while enjoying the company of family is admirably done,

If we rush home to be warmed by food and carols,

But miss the ringing of the Salvation Army bell,

Then winter has truly claimed our hearts,

Rather than letting compassion and love flow delicately, like the never-ending snow