Editor’s note: Local cowboy poet Frank Gleeson was inspired by this year’s long Cariboo winter to write the following poem. We quite agree with the sentiment.
Now they say winter comes and goes
But this one’s still not gone.
We get small tweeks, but it’s been weeks
Since the sun has really shone.
The snow piles are melting slow
And every night there’s more.
The oldtimers tell me
They’ve never seen the likes before.
Now the polar bears are moving south
And that really scares the swans.
See the bears, they just take over
I see them skating on the pond.
The ground is white both day and night,
I wish it leaves us soon.
But at this rate it’s moving along
it will still be here in June.
The young black bear gets quite a scare
He knows it’s past his date.
Said my mother never warned me
It takes this long to hibernate.
The old hawk, he sits in the tree
All he can see is ice.
The snow is deep, so he just squeaks
Cause he can’t find no mice.
The deer are in the haystack
And the birds are in the grain.
But I like to keep them all well fed,
So they’ll come back again.
Yes, the snow’s so deep I just can’t sleep
See nothing is the norm.
I have to dig down to find the woodshed
So I can keep the old shack warm.
Yes, the wind it blows snow in rows,
It shines like shredded glass
So, better keep your winter undies on
Or you’re going to freeze your a—
- Frank Gleeson