Poems about Snow

A rabbit has stopped on the gravel driveway:

           imbibing the silence,
           you stare at spruce needles:

--Excerpt from Arthur Sze’s First Snow

I remember when I first learned that the Inuit have around 50 words for snow.  At that time, my understanding of snow was limited. It was cold, it was frozen, and if we got enough of it overnight, I didn’t need to go to school the next day.  Learning that there were many words to describe snow really challenged my perception of the natural world.  

To be able to identify at least 50 different variations of snow means that you are intimately connected to this mineral. (Yes, snow is classified as a mineral because it is a naturally occurring solid with a defined chemical composition.⁽¹⁾). 

If you need to communicate the difference between snow that is crusted on the surface, tlacringit, and powdered…