TRUE WINTER

(Don Breithaupt)

The very first settlers
To this city by the lake
Must have come here in summer
When the grass was on the make
At the time it seemed the climate
Was hospitable to man
They didn’t see it coming
No one ever can

Then the harvest moon came hanging
And the leaves burned in the cold
Told them gather up your children
’Cause the year is getting old
And they stared out of their windows
And the snow fell down for good
And all at once they understood

This is true winter
And everything won’t be okay
This is true winter
When everything without and everything within is grey

I told you when I met you
I was hard to get to know
But you looked right through my anger
Saw the music in my soul
And I came out of my deep freeze
And learned to seize the day
And now I keep forgetting
That you’ve really gone away

The roads tonight are icy
But I’ve got somewhere to be
A big room full of people
And they all look strange to me
And later when I’m home
I’ll lie on your side of the bed
With one thing going through my head

In spite of all this history
I’ve got a new world on my mind
And there’s traffic in the alley
And the streetcars bump and grind
And I lean out of my window
And the snow melts in my hand
And all at once I understand

This is true winter
And everything will be okay
This is true winter
Though everything without and everything within is grey