Steaming hot chocolate runs down my throat,

heating my hands and heart.

Laughing children surround me, their faces full of wonder,

as they gather around the frosted glass to watch the falling snow.

As the final bell rings, sending small feet to run across salted sidewalks,

they head back to their hearth.

Yellow buses pull out, spewing gray fumes onto new slush,

leaving the sticky, dripping glue from paper snowmen. 

Huddled up in puffy jackets, drowning up to their necks,

they sing along to silver bells and roasted chestnuts,

marking footprints in one of their first snows.