White Thanksgiving

Before the Macy's Day Parade
Before the turkeys and tofurkeys
were carved
Before the stuffing and mashed potatoes and pie
were sliced and gobbled
Before the wine and sparkling Martinelli
and milk and water and juice
were drunk
the sky turned dark
the air turned cold,
frigid
like what
you feel in
Chicago, New York, Milwaukee
the kind of cold
houses here
weren't built to withstand
Before doors were opened wide for relatives
and families piled into
sedans and mini-vans
ebbing their way
up and down I-5
Before we gathered round candle-lit
tables, held hands,
said grace,
proclaimed a top ten list of what
we are grateful for this year
Before we sat on the easy chair,
slouched into the couch
drowsy with tryptophan
falling asleep to the Cowboy's game
Before all of that...
there were beautiful, white flakes
descending, sometimes slow
sometimes in fierce
percussions
proving
once again
it does snow in Seattle
and we are never
quite prepared