A poem

I thought this idea up while walking home from the train tonight.

Disney Presents: Stephanie on Ice!!

No easier in the dark than in the morning gray

Sidewalk shines in the white lamp light ... sometimes

Water or something less fluid?  Won't know yet

Until I plant my foot in what I think is run-off

In one small moment

A slide, just a fraction of an inch

Stomach lurches--I'm going to fall! and die! or break my nose!

Arms straighten

Back curves

Eyes wide

Other foot plants itself

Lucky that this part of ground

Has friction

Sweet, sweet friction

A stretch of sidewalk, well lit

No shine, no gleam--the only state of water is the vapor in my breath

Heart drops--I can see the end of the safe zone

Slippery packed snow awaits me

People too lazy to clear their sidewalks

Or too lazy to check and see

Whether it's their responsibility

Or the town's

Either way, I wonder who is liable

If I slip and fall

Possibly into traffic

The streets are mostly clear

With only a little shimmer near the edges

Still safer than a sidewalk

But only an idiot

Would think it safer to walk in the road

At night
Facing traffic

Wearing black

Than to risk a fall on a sidewalk

With snow to perhaps cushion the blow

The lesson of the story

Is that even the best of us

With years of experience

Still feel the lurch

The fear

The dread

Until the other foot lands on rougher ground

Maybe we fall less

But we don't slip less on the ice