Poem Courtesy of Debra Marquart:

Lake effect

snow for days      let it

the weather woman

is always wrong      we rise

these pearl white mornings

made warm by your long back

east of lake michigan

unexpected      always coming

great crystal flakes

float outside your windows

white pine branches lowered

heavy with snow      we rise

to the meteorologist’s apologies

this upland peninsula

so shaped like a paw

or an oven mitt

people will raise their hands

a kind of swearing to

and point to the spot

where they’re from      this place

in the heart of the palm

where I found you

a bit left of center

lake effect      people around here say

to things that happen

all the things      wonderful or strange

they can never hope to

predict or explain.

© Debra Marquart