The Invention of Snow

snow n. (1) the day struck dumb
hoarse months succumb to
bed-rest numb like cotton-wool
(2) dusty murals to morning
get your gloves mum says look
don’t touch (3) cake-mix draped
in folds upon uneven roads the sun
cranes over the clouds shoulder
to lick the bowl (4) matchstick limbs
wrapped in the paramedics
emergency blanket (5) a nice idea
(6) a blank canvas building blocks
balled in supple palms
jejune schema of a family of three
v. (7) the big boys come
brick praxis   the taste of war
turns sour the blunt
clatter of compacted ice on skull
n. (8) a patch scavenged in remains
stained red with mud (9) the decay
of months and januarys
optimism the slurry in the gutter

~

From “What we thought was true” – the Barbican Young Poets’ anthology 2012-13