Strangers might wonder why
That big snow-shovel’s leaning
Against the house in July.
Has it some cryptic meaning?

It means at least to say
That, here, we needn’t be neat
About putting things away,
As on some suburban street.

What’s more, by leaning there
The shovel seems to express,
With its rough and ready air,
A boast of ruggedness.

If a stranger said in sport
“I see you’re prepared for snow,”
Our shovel might retort,
“Out here, you never know.”

- Out Here, by Richard Wilbur from Anterooms


Michigan Barn in Snow  © Stephen Davis