Varieties of ice in spring

1.   Packed snow melted, white to translucent,

      frozen again. Lumpy, thick. Resists

ice pick and shovel.

 

2.   Edges of snowbanks under sun become granular,

loose. Clear beads, slick

with their own meltwater.

 

3.   On a deep puddle, transparent sheet floats,

rigid. Fingertip presses down,

pushes it under.

 

4.   This one gives a little, springs back. Sloshes the water beneath,

spurts it out from the edges. Bounces, bounces,

cracks, gives way.

 

5.   Half ice, half slush. Broken chunks

swim in a brown puddle.

 

6.   Thin skin of an air pocket, lace-edged, glass-brittle,

easily smashed underfoot. An early-morning type,

gone by midday.

 

7.   A mere sheen on the sidewalk.

Treacherous. But this, too,

will disappear by noon.