their breakfast tables,
midwesterners can see—
the errant confetti
of snowflakes
and jaunty stripes
of icicles dangling
their lambent tips
past kitchen windows,
obliterating symmetries
and betraying opportunity's
surprise birthday party.
Without getting closer,
they know
the eccentric
signature of fresh snow;
no crown, but a sturdy
coronation blanket;
entropy's indomitable
evening-out;
the invitation to celebrate
every as-yet
unanswered question.
