Ski Valley Road
by
Steven P. Schneider
Steven P. Schneider
Steven P. Schneider is professor of English at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives, Unexpected Guests, and Prairie Air Show. His scholarly books on contemporary American poetry include A.R. Ammons and the Poetics of Widening Scope (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press) and a recent collection of edited essays entitled The Contemporary Narrative Poem (The University of Iowa Press.) He is the recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grants and a Fellowship from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation.
At sunset they drive down the mountain,
Carload after carload,
Their skis piled in their trunks and backseats.
Their bodies are tired from a day on the slopes
But their headlights are turned on,
Their engines burning,
As if they have seen something at the top of the lift
That illuminates the road ahead of them,
That fuels their journey
And carries them towards town,
Where they will drink hot chocolate
Or brandy by a fireplace,
And listen to music at Doc Martin's Inn.
Afterwards, they will curl into bed,
Dreaming of their day on the slopes,
Until the cold morning air,
The epiphany of the peaks,
Awakens them,
Igniting their desire for just one more run.
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