"It's the midwinter jicker!" she screamed from her cube
"It's on CNN and all over the tube,
I'm worried and scared, scared for my family
and I know I can't make it home in my Camry!

"And poor me in my dress (short sleeves and lace)
it's the ice age in Windward!"
she cried, in her shared working space

I should have listened to old son Al Gore
our own southern prophet,
he warned us before

"now 75's frozen," she mumbled and shivered
"A thick permafrost,
an ice concrete river

If we can't escape
the artic blast weather
we'll camp out downstairs
by the robots together

"And maybe we'll find, in one of those drawers
a Snickers, a Reeses or maybe a Smores
We can scavenge for bottles if we need them tomorrow
in the displays, the dextrose and water

"If the cold settles in,
in through the vents
we'll use the work banner and make us some tents

then we'll hold hands
and wait out the storm
working on Siebel as we try to keep warm

"We'll break open the boxes of HBO chocolates
and use the hand cleaner
like HR has taught us

and all through the peril
we'll remember we're mortal

While we spend time
on the new sales portal

*****

#ice storm

The Midwinter Jicker - Atlanta