Love Poem: County Down Winter
Earl Schumacker Avatar
Written by: Earl Schumacker

County Down Winter

County Down winter falls hard buried in snow
Bone chilling ice buries the soul that had a heart
Sliced in two twice removed from love from life
From the equation to a distance in a kiss
Mistaken for friendship that missed the mark 
Bone chilling straight to the core of winter

Cold comes, as speed trains, as bullets, like rain
As drops of acid bombs fallen from planes
Tumbled in turn to create disaster
As temperatures dip below the timberline 
Plunge into regular sin then into mortal
Into total darkness as pine trees bow
To the pressure of original sins committed
Below the barometric limits of winter
Put upon them with excessive weight
Of snow, of white,  as Christmas comes
On each floating flakes chaotic fall  

Overnight God sends down a bearded man
Black boots make him look fatter than fat and old
There will be plenty of plastic toys for kids
Alcohol and coal mines for adults to dig
Parents prefer nuclear devices and rifles
To impress their neighbors who have nothing

As the good people pray in church
No one listens to Father O'Keefer
They don't need to they have their grief
A sneeze wakes them up before morning
A missile by their side for warmth

A soft voice continues preaching to the wind
Which is already rising with seasonal bliss 
Is that the clock tower in the distance
Counting down the seconds to Christmas
In the County Down district in Ireland
Or something different that is ticking
Gone missing at this time of year