“Snow would be the easy/ way out — that softening/ sky like a sigh of relief/ at finally being…

“Snow would be the easy/ way out — that softening/ sky like a sigh of relief/ at finally being allowed/ to yield”

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving nor’easter, here’s a bit of Rita Dove’s poem “November for Beginners.”

Snow would be the easy
way out — that softening
sky like a sigh of relief
at finally being allowed
to yield. No dice.
We stack twigs for burning
in glistening patches
but the rain won’t give.

So we wait, breeding
mood, making music
of decline. We sit down
in the smell of the past
and rise in a light
that is already leaving.

The rest of it is over at the Poetry Foundation. Photo via.