First Snow

The road and yard are full of dust
          That sifted from a cloud last night,
And I’ve come out because I must
          Review a brown world changed to white.
And lest I failed to understand
          The change that lies before my eyes,
I tramp about upon my land
          Examining each white surprise.
And I make new acquaintances
          Where I had left old friends before—
I shake the pump’s protesting arm
          And knock upon my own back door.