The sky blue. 

The golden sun.

The chirping birds. 

The eternal warmth

of California. 

At least that’s what I thought. 

I never thought it would end. 

I didn’t believe 

our dear Earth 

was so sick 

as to cough up 

the pain 

poisoned by 

chilling human

selfishness.

Hail rained down 

in my small town

that was never supposed to be 

this cold. 

I blinked. 

I stared. 

The ice continued 

to pummel the streets. 

It stayed that way for a few days.

I carried my umbrella to shield 

the wrath of the weather. 

Disappointed by human kind. 

The hail then turned to snow. 

The harsh winds would no longer blow. 

The skies had given their warning. 

The clouds now exhausted.

Giving us another chance? 

I shrugged on my jacket 

goose feather lined

all the rage in blizzarding Boston. 

I yanked on my gloves

thick wool warming my fingers

just like in Chicago. 

I ran outside

my sister in hand

we saw the outer beauty 

of the ugly message beneath. 

The most beautiful 

are the snakes 

whose poison can kill. 

The snow was the pretty gift wrap. 

The fancy envelope 

with the letter inside 

from Mother Nature enclosed. 

Threatening to unleash 

her fury. 

Our way of life

as we know it now 

may seem too precious

to give up. 

We cannot turn back time. 

We cannot forget all we have learned. 

We cannot abandon the innovation 

that has led us to modern society. 

But the very least we can all do 

is to try to limit 

the toxic footprint 

of our pollution.

So that never more, 

the sky will cry hail 

down on what used to be 

a place snow-free.