Sounds of a Snowflake

Shhh! Little children. Gather 'round,
Hear the raindrops falling down?
Watch and listen, hear the sound?
-That pitter, patter all around?

However, should the moisture freeze,
Before it falls into the breeze;
And blows around your little feet,
You'll never know which ones will meet.

Stand real still and do not meddle,
Can you hear the snowflakes settle?
No you can't - and whys it so?
Where does the sound of a snowflake go?

They gather here, they gather there,
Each one different - no matching pair.
They settle in - as a marching band,
Yet quietly, contour the land.

We're all like snowflakes, each our own,
Some are small - some overgrown.
Under a heavy blanket of snow,
You'll find me there - somewhere below....

I'm but just one of many more.
I'm helping hold - the upper floor.
Let others bask out in the sun,
Get tossed around in wind with fun.

For I may not be king or queen,
Always heard - and always seen.
It's all okay.... I am content,
The rest can fight and circumvent.

But if you know, just what you'll be,
It matters not to an angry sea;
Go if you want and make some noise,
But remember this, you girls and boys:

Some climb the biggest, highest tree,
And yell out orders breathlessly;
But in the end, it's not to be.
It's all a waste, futility!

It's not the din we make at birth,
That gives us special rights on earth;
It's not about the clothes we wear,
Or the gossip we might share.

It's not about the ground we tilled,
Nor all about the wealth we build;
It's really what you leave behind,
And whether you were fair and kind.

Eventually, the warm wind breaks,
And melts the coldest, biggest flakes;
They travel ditches - travel streams,
Travel creeks - with no more dreams.

Most will melt - in torrents roar,
And while they melt, they're wanting more;
It's really all, just up to you,
Who you'll be, and what you'll do.

But don't take Satan's awful blow,
When life is over and the rapids flow;
Screaming in anxious, helpless woe, because -
That's where the sounds of a snowflake go.

Did we exist? Will history show?
Who we were - or where we'd go?
It matters not, to me, you see,
For I have God - eternity.

Content and peaceful you will be,
-If you're a snowflake just like me.
Before I see that pearly gate,
It's me, who'll quietly evaporate.

This poem was a finalist in the February 2009 poetry contest