“Snow, Aldo” by Kate DiCamillo

On By Christina's WordsIn Poetry, Reader Recommended

Once, I was in New York,
in Central Park, and I saw
an old man in a black overcoat walking
a black dog. This was springtime
and the trees were still
bare and the sky was
gray and low and it began, suddenly,
to snow:
big fat flakes
that twirled and landed on the
black of the man’s overcoat and
the black dog’s fur. The dog
lifted his face and stared
up at the sky. The man looked
up, too. “Snow, Aldo,” he said to the dog,
“snow.” And he laughed.
The dog looked
at him and wagged his tail.

If I was in charge of making
snow globes, this is what I would put inside:
the old man in the black overcoat,
the black dog,
two friends with their faces turned up to the sky
as if they were receiving a blessing,
as if they were being blessed together
by something
as simple as snow
in March.

“Snow, Aldo” by Kate DiCamillo. © Kate DiCamillo.

***

Reader (and Editor) Favorite:

This is both a favorite poem of mine and my friend Archita. I’ve shared it here on March 18, 2015 and in a dog-themed anthology on Words for the Weekend on March 22, 2014.

I share it again in memory of my sweet Spotted girl.

Spot (2/11/06 - 3/17/14)
Spot (2/11/06 – 3/17/14)

12 thoughts on ““Snow, Aldo” by Kate DiCamillo”

  5. Love this; love Cate DiCamillo. I follow her on Facebook. I also follow Harry Bliss. He’s an illustrator/cartoonist/artist/writer who also lives dogs. A couple of weeks ago he post this poem with the illustration he had done to accompany it. The two together were sublimely poignant.

    Kate recently lost her dog Henry and writes so beautifully about missing him.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I need to look her up on Facebook. I’m sorry she lost her Henry. Gah the pain is awful and it seems it will never pass…but then it does and you’re left with smiles.
      Snow globes… Time in a bottle? 🙂

      Like

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