Oregon in Winter
By Timothy Bovee

To any man who'd bring his sorrow
To Oregon in winter--what kind of fool
Would drop his tears to increase
Grey Atlantic's burden of salt?
Or add a lump to all the coal
In Newcastle's darkened yards? Or sell
Fine igloos freon-cooled to
Inuit on Canada's far icy coast?
Erect a fan on Oklahoma's windswept course,
To guide Tornado's drunken path?
For surely when the rain and fog
Creep down from Cascade's peaks
To Willamette's gentle thighs,
Oregon in winter brings sorrow enough
To measure out a lifetime's worth
Of tears and bonefelt cold, warmed only
By the hearth and kin of home.