A Farm In Frederick,
Maryland
The older boys played ice hockey
when the pond near the barn froze over,
even into twilight, almost until dark
soon, the hallway of the main house
filled with skates, gloves, and coats,
the sound of chafing hands and stomping feet
make their way to the fireplace, bright with a tall fire
its crack and hiss a comfort,
even better, the smell of Sunday supper
in a farmhouse rich with rooms,
the long kitchen table crowded with family and guests,
shy little girls cling to their mothers,
and like all the other kids around the table
peek up from bowed heads
as grace was said
and the iced pond glistened, moonlit and quiet.
-Marcia Segal
