First Snow

He came from a world
where winter never existed.
Throughout his young life
he had never seen snow,
never enjoyed the same wintry joys
of childhood as I,

of catching falling snowflakes
with my tongue,
lying on my back in the snow
and spreading my arms and legs
to make snow angels,
battling friends in snowball battles,
building forts and snowmen
wearing baseball caps
and cheap sunglasses,
and riding down snowy hills
on a sled, with the icy wind
at my face, having the time
of my young life.

One day while on a smoke break
at work, it began to snow.
He stood wide-eyed and awestruck
as we watched the flakes fall
quietly around us,
covering the grass and the cars
in the parking lot beneath
a soft white blanket.

"This snow?" he asked
with what little English he knew.
"Yes, it is." I replied, smiling.
I then envisioned him
years later, with a family
and children of his own,

catching falling snowflakes
with their tongues,
lying on their backs in the snow
and spreading their arms and legs
to make snow angels,
battling each other
in snowball battles,
building forts and snowmen
wearing baseball caps
and cheap sunglasses,
and riding down snowy hills
together on a sled,
the icy wind at their faces,
all of them having
the time of their lives.

Welcome to the new world,
my friend.