Cold Snap

The kind of cold
I feel in my toes
It freezes the hairs
Inside of my nose.

My fingers go numb
Even in mitts.
Minus thirty-seven
Is really the pits.

The wind makes my eyes water
The snow creaks under my feet,
I'm wearing 47 layers
In a vain attempt at heat.

If I were free and single
South and west I'd go
To the sunny Okanagan,
Where it's never 40 below.

But I love my husband,
And my children too,
Born and bred Albertans,
What else is there to do?

I have chosen to live here,
I have made it my home.
But I reserve the right, in the winter,
To bitch, complain and moan.

I loathe you, stupid winter!
I cannot stand you, snow!
I abhor the chilly, cutting winds,
That swirl and gust and blow.

I will detest you, winter,
Each and every day,
Until my friend, the spring arrives!
Sometime in late May.