Wondering What a Snowman Thinks

Written
2011

 Wondering What a Snowman Thinks

Gather a carrot,      

        a few pieces of eye and button coal,

       a pipe and a plug hat

       and you have a good start on snowman cosmetics.

Roll a big ball of snow

       for the bottom and

       a smaller piece for the top.

Now you have done

       what zillions of kids before you have done;

       you have created most of a snowman.

So far the sculpting has been

       the brute force of rolling and lifting

       but now comes the artistic talent.

First bluff a coat with

       four pieces of coal

       for jet-black buttons.

Make a small hard ball for the head

       with a Carrot nose, coal eyes

       and a pipe for a mouth.

With care make an arm and

       place a broom in it for

       who wants a lazy snowman?

Name him something original

       like Frosty

       and see if he smiles to that name.

Go skate and slide and

       enjoy the slick streets

       and clear iced pond.

Frosty would like to come along

       but he can’t move a muscle

       so he will guard the yard.

Now I will bet that not one of

       you laughing players

       ever wondered what Frosty was thinking.

What Frosty sees is

       what he can think about

       and nothing more.

He reads no papers

       listens to no CNN

       and hears no conference calls.

The Tea Party does not

       exist for him

       nor does Afghanistan or the national debt. 

He sees children laughing,

       making angels in the snow

       and holding hands out

       to get the bonfire’s warmth.

What a beautiful world Frosty

       sees and  thinks about

       with his head of pure white snow.

 For him there are no thoughts of poverty

       and war is a few snowballs

       laughingly tossed and often missed.

And all the greed sees is a slight push to

       get closer to the fire and

       warm cold fingers and toes.

The warm sun comes out

       in a beautiful blue sky

       and Frosty is gone.

But do not weep for him

       he lived is a world pure and white

       as the snow of which he was part.

And he is not gone far

       for he cycled to water

       a beautiful Spring daffodil.

Doug Minnis 1/4/11

 

 

 

Notes
Great Granddaughter, Alex was touched and saddened as a snowman melted and this poem came to mind. I note that this sadness needed a context . I hope the poem does it, but it may be a concept that has to be reenforced many times. Reality has many bad things to offer, but is also the source of beauty and optimism.