Legler, Philip

English

University of New Mexico

New Mexico Quarterly
Volume 35 | Issue 2 Article 10
1965
There is a Terrible Snow Falling
Philip Legler
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Legler, Philip. "There is a Terrible Snow Falling." New Mexico Quarterly 35, 2 (1965). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol35/
iss2/10
~-~...,.~~.---~~.---.--~~~------------~
PHILIP LEGLER
THERE IS A TERRIBLE SNOW FALLING
At first there were letters like a first snowfall,
l
A sudden down-draft, and he fell
As if he had para.chuted down and landed
Almost softly, guiding himself i.n the wind.
And thinking of her, he had a compas~:
Surely he'd find the way back, his clothing
Warm enough to keep the cold out;
Thinking of her/he'd find the true north.
The first night, lost, he kept her in mind
Like someone keeping his eye on a certain mountain;
The snow seemed to stop, and the drifting,
And he did what he could t,o keep warm...
Using his memory like a flashlight- _
Ask any guide or person who has been there-
Snowblind, he found her everywhere,
A bright spot until the batteries ran down.
Next morning the mountain seemed a mirage
And once, days later, his spirit ,broken
Like a leg or an arm wrapped in a cast of snow,
He thought she was near, a plane circling.
Slowly the cold is deadened like a white sheet
Drawn even more slowly over his person.
The body, like a fur coat, isn't warm enough;
Huddled by imaginary fires, he goes to sleep.
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Legler: There is a Terrible Snow Falling
Published by UNM Digital Repository, 1965


There is a Terrible Snow Falling

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