Julia Sevin
It will appear on your water and sewerage bill
It’s June and the March snow is like sweet cream butter
It smells of strawberries.
What a miracle!
Icicles can be held in hand,
Warm to the touch, crystal periscopes to keep for a week.
What a convenience!
To ride the sled in my summer shift,
To savor an endless summer of snowball battles and skating on the lake.
A girl like you can curl up in her own snow angel
And nap as if it were the thickest down comforter’s folds.
Twice a week the Keeper trucks come by
Playing a tinkling melody, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,”
As they let it snow, their strawberry-scented preservative compound.
What a modern marvel!
What a wonder technology can be, saving us from mittens, scarves, and boots.
Now run and play, little Laxme,
And enjoy that strawberry snow,
But first, let me put on your goggles, and for God’s sake don’t let it get in your mouth!
______
Julia Sevin is president and co-editor of Creeping Hemlock Press, publisher of Corpse Blossoms, one of the most anticipated anthologies of 2005. Featuring original stories by Ramsey Campbell, Bentley Little, Kealan Patrick Burke, Gary A. Braunbeck and Tom Piccirilli, Corpse Blossoms can be ordered directly at www.creepinghemlock.com. This is Julia’s first published work, and her husband is very proud.
Copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted.
Art Director: Bonnie Brunish
