A cold morning.
I wake to darkness
but I remember:
the snow. The possibilities.

I rise.
The cold floor greets my feet.
The remote is located
and the morning news fills
my television screen.

County by county,
the list changes,
county by county,
in alphabetical order.

Hope rises in my throat as
suspense trickles through my veins.

My eyes remain glued to the screen,
I hardly dare to blink,
lest I miss something.


Finally,
the anticipated name appears,
momentarily and unspectacularly,
but how I howl in ecstasy.
No school!

I dive back into the pool of blankets,
warm and inviting.
I lay immersed in quilts and comforters,
mulling over plans for the day.
The possibilities.

Dawn has spread itself
softly on the pale and pearly sky.
Before long
thinking gives way to fatigue.
My eyelids droop.
Plans can wait.
The world can wait now, and I can sleep.