First Snow

In honor of DC's first day of snow (even if just a few flurries), enjoy Saadi Youssef's "First Snow".

First snow swarms the street;
its flakes speckle the trees,
and teh girls' cheeks redden.
Who can ask a flower how it bloomed?
Snow tumbles
and the fallen leaves swirl.
Snow...
and you pass by, warm,
wrapped in your leather coat
until the street ends.

Snow...
and on your writing papers
the girls' cheeks redden

From: Youssef, Saadi. Without an Alphabet, Without a Face : Selected Poems. Trans. Khaled Mattawa. New York: Graywolf P, 2002. 81.