The Snowman that Shivered

Built with love and warmth 
By smiling children 
His body is icy cold 
And severely chilling 

They built him up 
From the cold, cold snow 
If they could only really know 
How freezing it was to be made of snow 

They gave him eyes 
With which to see 
A branch for a mouth 
His nose a carrot 
A hat of wool 
A blue scarf 
And Red Gloves they placed on the end 
Of his thin stick arms 

But with no pants 
Or shirt to wear 
Or anything to represent hair 
He sat there frozen 
And just stared 

The snowmen shivered 
As if it would matter 
He didn’t even have teeth 
With which to chatter 

The air was chill 
A wintry breeze 
If he had legs 
He would be shaking his knees 

He watched the children 
Sipping on their hot cocoa 
Safe and warm inside their house 

The night grew colder and colder 
As the sun went down. 
He saw them gathered around a fire 
“Oh it must be warm inside” He pondered 


So without legs with which to move 
He slide 
One inch at a time 
Toward his doom 

Hours later 
In the deep freeze of early morn 
The time of night when Icicles form 
He made it to the doorway 
He stood under the light 
Trying to sneak inside tonight 

He began to feel it 
As he opened the door. 
He could smell more than carrots now 
As he slide wetly across the wood floor 

The fire was still going 
They hadn’t put it out 
He was so happy he wanted to shout 

He sat himself in a fireside chair 
Thinking about how pleasant it was there. 
It felt so good 
The glowing heat 
He wondered how nice it must be for the kids 
To warm their feet. 

The warm alone wasn’t good enough 
That hot chocolate he had watched the kids drink 
Maybe he would try a cup. 

But as he rose up 
And tried to move 
He realized he was about a foot shorter 
Then when he had entered the room 

Then the little kids dog arrived 
And begin to yelp 
The snowman with his stick mouth 
Tried to say “go get help” 

The dog just barked 
As his arms feel out 
The dog grabbed the stick arms 
And continued its yelp 

He tried to move 
But he was melting fast 
The warm paradise he dreamed of 
Too good to last. 

They found what was left of him the very next morning 
A puddle by the fire with a dog and a stick in his mouth. 
“Bad dog” They yelled. 

The next day 
A New Snowman was born. 
Built by smiling kids 
From a house that looked of so warm 
The Snowman he stood outside and shivered 

BAC 11/30/2009