When Will It Snow?

At school my son makes a paper snowflake,
he comes home and tells me how the world is.
The oven is on, I pull out an orange cake,
he huffs. Cake that won’t be frosted.

My son asks, “Dad, when will it snow?”
I tell him, “I love winter in California—
the pink skies, the purple glow.”
His face crumples into a frown.

After dinner, we sit on the couch and turn on the TV.
We watch Frosty the Snowman, look at him go.
“Dad, I want to build a snowman like Frosty.”
But the grass is green and the sky is clear.

Snowman / Charcoal on paper by Joshua Wait