County Down Winter

County Down winter falls hard buried in snow Bone chilling ice buries the soul that had a heart Sliced in two twice removed from love from life From the equation to a distance in a kiss Mistaken for friendship that missed the mark Bone chilling straight to the core of winter Cold comes, as speed trains, as bullets, like rain As drops of acid bombs fallen from planes Tumbled in turn to create disaster As temperatures dip below the timberline Plunge into regular sin then into mortal Into total darkness as pine trees bow To the pressure of original sins committed Below the barometric limits of winter Put upon them with excessive weight Of snow, of white, as Christmas comes On each floating flakes chaotic fall Overnight God sends down a bearded man Black boots make him look fatter than fat and old There will be plenty of plastic toys for kids Alcohol and coal mines for adults to dig Parents prefer nuclear devices and rifles To impress their neighbors who have nothing As the good people pray in church No one listens to Father O'Keefer They don't need to they have their grief A sneeze wakes them up before morning A missile by their side for warmth A soft voice continues preaching to the wind Which is already rising with seasonal bliss Is that the clock tower in the distance Counting down the seconds to Christmas In the County Down district in Ireland Or something different that is ticking Gone missing at this time of year