The Snow Lay Moist and Heavy, by Pam Martin

After the Grand Mass, Berthier, by Kathleen Morris (Canada) 1923.

The Snow Lay Moist and Heavy

The snow lay moist and heavy
upon the ground
Great gouts of it had fallen
from the church roof,
almost burying
Ti-Guy and Jeannot who had
snuck out of mass early
If they were older
it might have been God’s will
that they die
that they smother under the heavy wet
snow clogging their mouths, their nostrils
the way Grandpere said it was
in the mud
in the trenches
in the war
We played that war
with snowballs
It was a serious thing
picking sides
Who made the best, the hardest, the roundest
who had the best aim, the fastest arm
This was good snow for forts
and snowballs
We played all afternoon
into the darkening evening
when a rare winter
thunderstorm sent us
running home
booming above us
We zig-zagged, ducking
the shells
from the artillery guns

Pam Martin

This poem was written as part of the Surprise Challenge, ekphrastic poems from Canadian paintings.