Blizzard
By Tom Hendricks

Nobody knew from those first flakes
that the snow would fall 100" deep
and more and more until no end
would ever ever come again.

Burne caught the first twirling flake
on the tip of his tongue. It melted away.
But then came another and another behind it....

Dad and his brother Uncle Paul
were working in the farm's one-stall garage
with their heater red and blowing hot air
"It's snowing!" yelled Burne out loud to the sky.
But neither looked up from his engine work.

Snow, snow, and more-more snow.
Thicker, thicker, and higher drifts...
Dad told the boy, "Help me shovel the walk."
Together they and Uncle Paul
shovel a way to get to the barn
to the cows and horse to get their feed.
The radio announced "More on the way!"
"Get food and supplies. Blizzard today!"

Day after day, flake after flake...
Dad gave up and changed his tactics
and tossed up planks across the top.
Now a tunnel to the barn.
And later he replaced the wood with sheets
of aluminum - a maze had begun!

Another to the neighbor's farm down the way
that hooked to the main road that led to town.
Burne , his father, and Uncle Paul,
like ants in an ant farm, joined the town,
the state, the county, in building more routes
through the snow, the ever falling snow -
the never ever stopping snow.

Next the army of digging men
came to the edge of the planet and then
put aluminum siding not just on the top
but on all 4 sides and built into space.
There the stars turned to snow
falling, falling falling more.
And further and further they had to go
tunneling, tunneling, tunneling more.

They built a path all the way to the moon,
and through more snow to the planets and sun
(that now had an icey crust on its edge),
and further up and out and away
to the inside and ouside of the very ends
of our own galaxy, our Milky Way
(frozen milk?  'Moo', lows the cows),
and still stars fell and still it snowed...

So on to the Virgo Cluster we go
and now as I write with gloves on my hands
resting from the shoveling ache in my arms,
We prepare to go to the Attractor Spot,
and further and further though I doubt its much use
to connect up to all of the Universe.