Reminiscing

The snow pulses bright white with the light from the streetlamp.

A car comes slowly up the road, not wanting to slip on the iciness.

Noticing the snow, it pulls slowly to a stop.

An elderly man gets out.

With shaking hands, he puts on large gloves and his jacket,

Then bends over and picks up some snow, letting it sift

Through his fingers and fall back down to the ground.

It reminds him of a time, years before, when he had played in the snow

With his brothers and sisters.

He is the last one left.

Slowly and morosely, he packs the snow.

It gradually forms the shape of a ball, and he smiles,

Remembering the snowball fights he had with his brothers

In the backyard of their parent’s home all those years ago.

He starts to cry.

His tears fall on the snowball, causing the snow to steam.

When he is finished crying, he shudders, shakes himself,

And packs new snow onto the snowball. Once he has perfected

Its’ spherical shape, he looks at it one last time.

And throws it into the woods.

As he shambles back to his car, he sees the ruts in the snow banks from other cars

And remembers the excitement he felt when his father would do donuts

In the parking lot of their church building, with his brothers and sisters

Howling gleefully with excitement beside him in the backseat.

He misses them.

Getting behind the wheel, he puts the car into drive and carefully

Eases it back onto the road- remembering how his brother had

Done the opposite and crashed into a telephone pole with their

Family’s first car- only weeks after having bought it.

He hadn’t made that mistake.

As he sinks into his armchair, he looks out the window at the crystal clear snow,

Pondering how good it would feel to be young again.