SPREAD OF WHITE SEA.
Isn't it a lovely day
and O look at this snow
and how it covers
everything like
a huge great cloth
and the birds still come
to the bushes for food
and I love it
Jane says
and I meet her
by the back gate
of the cottage
and I look at her
standing there
in a woollen hat
and scarf and gloves
and a grey overcoat
and boots
and she's happy
and her eyes sparkle
as if candles
had been lit there
it's a bit cold
I say
opening the gate
and watch as the snow
that was sitting on top
falls to the ground
O you townie boys
this is how it is
in winter
here in the countryside
and where's your
big coat?
I have a jacket on
and an old scarf
and gloves
my mother knitted
and my jeans
and two jumpers
I haven't got one yet
I close the gate
behind me
so that next doors mutt
doesn't get out
onto the country lane
don't you have
winter in London?
sure we do
but it seems different
like an invasion
not a bit natural
as it seems here
I say
we walk down the lane
beside the cottage
the high hedges
are covered in snow
the ground is inches deep
in whiteness
I feel the coldness
bite at my toes
I look at her
as we go down
the winding lane
and she's so happy
so alive
and I want to hold her
and seep some
of that warmth
into me
but I don't
I just look out
at the fields beyond
like a spread
of white sea.
