SHELTER FROM T HE STORM
The travellers were tired, with still a long way to go,
The weather changed and a storm started to blow,
The cold north wind sent the snow swirling all about,
They couldn’t go much further of that there was no doubt.
The car spluttered and coughed then the engine died away,
No one could see a thing as more snow came to stay,
A whiteout covered everywhere nothing could be seen,
Not even the where they were going or where they had been.
If they stayed in the car they could soon freeze or suffercate,
To go outside they would meet a very similar kind of fate,
But a voice seemed to say there is a cabin quite close by,
Trust me and follow where the great forest dense does lie.
The voice was plain, so grabbing a few important things
We left the car and into the snow, sheer cold it did bring,
But we seemed to be lead along the forest thick and dark,
There we found an old shack not from where we did park.
The door was unlocked, we lit a candle and a flashlight shone
Around the room it seemed that to safety and shelter we’d come,
A fireplace and a pile of wood tinder dry and ready to burn,
For our company that small cabin seemed to long and yearn.
We had brought some food and a blanket we were safe and warm
That night through the vicious cruel storm we came to no harm,
We slept and felt refreshed at the late break of a winter’s day
And through the dusty window there shone the sun’s bright ray.
We replenished the wood pile and left some cans of food to eat
Just incase someone else was stranded, another need to meet,
If you are travelling in northern Manitoba so many miles away,
You may see an old broken down cabin that saved the day.
(Millicent) Ann Margetson 17 May 2005