Sifting Snow, Drifting Drifts

A driving wind from the north, northwest
With a long open sweep down the lake,
The sting of cutting sleet
And the snapping crack of ice,
The steady sift of loosened snow,
Drifts changing into drifts.


Great long, snowy plumes twist away to the south,
Slowing streaks of phantom white
Scraping over the hard packed snow
Slipping over the glassy ice
Taking, leaving, changing
Drifting over drift.


The raw wind burns my face
And drives me on ahead
Ever away to the south
Where the white settles deep in the willows & grass
And the drifts pile high in the woods.
On with the sifting streaks and the drifting drifts.


Snow that answers the will of the the wind
Goes where the wind blows
Scoops where the wind swoops
Scrapes away hardened crusts.
Tears at the frozen drifts
Always the steady sift
And the ever changing drifts.


                                             - Garnet Trimble