citizen snow

the snow fell down
and the snow fell down
upon the roads and sidewalks

(bless the snow plows
for they are heroes)

an old lady
laden with bags of groceries
struggled up the icy sidewalk
sloped against the side of a mountain

she slipped
she fell
she collected her scattered groceries
she rubbed her elbow

and i felt pity
i felt sadness
i felt duty to my community
to shovel the ice and snow
clear from the sidewalk concrete

shovelling the sidewalk
is service to others
work performed for no monetary reward
indeed
spending money on snow shovels and ice melt salts
net capital outlay for zero income

it is my pleasure
to serve my community
in this very small way
every old woman who does not fall down
is another reward
for citizen snow