The Snow Fairy

Claude McKay

 
I
Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy.
And they flew down a mightier force at night,
As though in heaven there was revolt and riot,
And they, frail things had taken panic flight
Down to the calm earth seeking peace and quiet.
I went to bed and rose at early dawn
To see them huddled together in a heap,
Each merged into the other upon the lawn,
Worn out by the sharp struggle, fast asleep.
The sun shone brightly on them half the day,
By night they stealthily had stol'n away.
II
And suddenly my thoughts then turned to you
Who came to me upon a winter's night,
When snow-sprites round my attic window flew,
Your hair disheveled, eyes aglow with light.
My heart was like the weather when you came,
The wanton winds were blowing loud and long;
But you, with joy and passion all aflame,
You danced and sang a lilting summer song.
I made room for you in my little bed,
Took covers from the closet fresh and warm,
A downful pillow for your scented head,
And lay down with you resting in my arm.
You went with Dawn. You left me ere the day,
The lonely actor of a dreamy play.
 

Poems by This Author

America by Claude McKay
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness
December, 1919 by Claude McKay
Last night I heard your voice, mother
Harlem Shadows by Claude McKay
I hear the halting footsteps of a lass
If We Must Die by Claude McKay
If we must die--let it not be like hogs
Joy in the Woods by Claude McKay
There is joy in the woods just now
Spring in New Hampshire by Claude McKay
Too green the springing April grass
The Barrier by Claude McKay
I must not gaze at them although
The City's Love by Claude McKay
For one brief golden moment rare like wine
The Tropics of New York by Claude McKay
Bananas ripe and green, and ginger root
The White House by Claude McKay
Your door is shut against my tightened face,


Further Reading

Poems about Snow
Snow-Bound [The sun that brief December day]
by John Greenleaf Whittier
Balance
by Adam Zagajewski
Cherries in the Snow
by Richard Jones
Dust of Snow
by Robert Frost
Heavy Snowfall in A Year Gone Past
by Laura Jensen
How We Found Our Way
by Matthew Thorburn
Humoresque
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Iowa
by Kate Northrop
It sifts from Leaden Sieves - (311)
by Emily Dickinson
London Snow
by Robert Bridges
On Snow
by James Parton
Snow
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Snow Song
by Frank Dempster Sherman
Snow-Flakes
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Snowfall in G Minor
by Marianne Boruch
Snowman
by Gu Cheng
Spring Snow
by Arthur Sze
The Snow Man
by Wallace Stevens
The Snow Storm
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Snowdrop
by Anna Bunston De Bary
The Snowfall Is So Silent
by Miguel de Unamuno
Why is the Color of Snow?
by Brenda Shaughnessy