Snow Toward Evening
Suddenly the sky turned grey.
The day,
Which had been bitter and chill,
Grew soft and still.
Quietly
From some invisible blossoming tree
Millions of petals cool and white
Drifted and blew,
Lifted and flew,
Fell with the falling light.
by Melville Cane
Melville H. Cane (1901-1979 ), poet and lawyer, made important achievements in the fields of copyright law, book publishing and the writing and publishing of poetry. The Poetry Society of America named an award after him.
Poetry Idea
This is one of my absolute favorite winter poems, about that incredible moment when the snow starts to fall. Every word in this poem adds to its mood. In fact, the words are so beautiful that you can rearrange them and make another poem of your own. Try this:
1. On your computer, copy this poem to a new document, enlarge it, and print it out (or just copy it by hand in big letters).
2. Cut apart each word, so you have a handful of words.
3. Lay each word out on a table and try different combinations of words.
4. “Write” your own poem about snow, using this poet’s words, pasting the words down when you’re done. You don’t have to use all the words--and, of course, you can add some of your own if you like.
Here’s a sample, written by a second grader in one of my classes:
Snow
by Erik Parkinson
Quietly the sky petals fell,
The still tree grew,
And the invisible day lifted
With light.
Suddenly the bitter flowers
Turned white.
