Snow
all over the city
are having heart attacks in their driveways,
dropping their nice new shovels
with the ergonomic handles
that finally did them no good.
Gray-headed men who meant no harm,
who abided by the rules and worked hard
for modest rewards, are slipping
softly from their mortgages,
falling out of their marriages.
How gracefully they swoon—
that lovely, old-fashioned word—
from dinner parties, grandkids,
vacations in Florida.
They should have known better
than to shovel snow at their age.
If only they'd heeded
the sensible advice of their wives
and hired a snow-removal service.
But there's more to life
than merely being sensible. Sometimes
a man must take up his shovel
and head out alone into the snow.
from the Writer's Almanac
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