The Long Way Home Poem by David Whalen

Tiny squeaks from the snow
As if I’d stepped
upon a mouse

The temperature hovers at zero
A walk sounded nice…
Before I left the house

I gave it thought
For about a moment
Trying to decide…yes or no

But a long look
out the window
made me bundle up and go

The bare limbs and sere winds
Beckoned me deep
into the woods

While the piquant prickle
Of pins and needles
Bade me snugly pull up my hood

I thought only to take
A short brisk
Moonlight walkabout

But the blue of the moon
Highlighting crystals of snow
Gave me pause as to why I was out

I embraced the cold, kissed the wind,
Held the moon… and felt the snow
As my own

I inhaled deeply of the winter
Looked back at my warm abode
And decided instead…to take

…the long way home…