Winter Storm

Snow layers on the trees
The proverbial blanket of white
Too pretty to feel cold
Takes the shape of all it covers.

Stillness, early sunset comes
All muffled by the still-falling snowflakes
Not too windy, instead,
The kind of falling snow that
Holiday parade officials wish would fall as Santa arrives.

But not Christmas, now, despite the colorful lights
Still visible in families’ windows and yards
Just a lovely steady snowfall
Coating the houses, the porches, the trees,
And sending small animals into
Shelter.