Magic in Winter

Winter has decorated the city

Fresh snow dresses the trees

Each one is outfitted

in fresh clean white garb
as if for a wedding

Even the winter weary 

marvel at the beauty of the morning

Cold

When I was young

I knew winter was cold

There was  the cold snap

of January

The frigid February

but with bright blue skies

We bundled up

And played outside

just adding layers as needed

But lately we have learned

a whole new vocabulary

Temperature seems to plummet

when wind chill is reported

Our polar vortex

brings arctic temperatures
And -23C sounds colder
than -9F the scale I grew up with

Has the climate changed

Or has the media changed the way we see it
Perception

I bundle up

just adding layers as needed

And venture out
In the cold snap of January