A Gray Day

            The sky was gray with tears of glowing sunlight ripping through the gloom. Dreary buildings stood in a backdrop of freshly fallen snow, a dusty powder that coated the ugly brown of late fall, teasing the possibility of a white Christmas one week hence.

            Meager melting had ensued. Periodic drips from the roof plummeted to the ground, while thin sheets of ice molded themselves to barrels and railings in the yard. Flurries appeared briefly in defiance of the emerging sun, chased away by the persistence of the greater orb of the day.

            Under foot, the slush of melting snow and hardening ice was mixed with sand that was shoveled for safer perambulation. This is not a place to be without boots, nor without snow tires for the car, for that matter. One wrong move on foot or on the roadway could spell pain, misery, or both for the walker or driver. 

            For two hours, the room remained nearly silent, as no one attended the midday tutoring session. When students arrived at last, none needed assistance in English nor social studies, so boredom set in fully for the teacher. That was not entirely unwelcome, however, as antisocial mood and ill feeling had settled into the body, and an early departure seemed the best course of action for the day. 

            Natural beauty of creation met human nature’s discomforts.

~December 18, 2019