the sled ride

did it happen
were you a child
once
in the snow.
throwing your sled
onto the ice
covered road
going downhill
the spray of snow
in your red
face. your black
rubber boots
stretched out
on the wooden
sled with iron
rails. was that
you on your way
down the rise
of dorchester street,
faster, faster,
around the bend
in the moon lit night,
beating back
tomorrow, before
the plows, before
the snow
was gone, before
youth had
melted away.