Ryan Jessup

Snow at Midnight

all at once the first flakes of the year the first since my father passed last winter fall softly through the cold night slowly covering everything in sight except the image of him which becomes clearer before me as I puff on a small cigar and tell him that I love him and that I miss him and I can see him giving me that nod of confidence and saying I love you son do not worry everything will be alright

and then I take a long deep breath and listen to the snow as it keeps coming down through the trees making the one and only sound

like a spirit
a cloud of tobacco smoke
drifts into the distance