Winters of My Boyhood

my brothers laughed and shook me awake inviting me to roll over and open the blinds to see the dawn for myself the winter winds had brought snowdrifts high as fences and in all the morning radio reports we heard that school had been canceled so in light of the hazardous road conditions we took to our sleds and inner-tubes barely missing evergreens I joined my big brothers in the front yard where we made preparations to declare war on the kids next door they never stood much of a fair chance as we tended eventually to resort to guerrilla procedures with our once bold snow-fortresses in sad shape and our little hands bright red and numb we retired inside for warm cocoa gathered around the fireplace in our pajamas we made a wish for enough new snow that schools should never again open