Finally winter
Balmy Fall gives way to cold
...It's February

An unpleasant change
Thermometer plummeting far,
Down into the teens

The fun's not over;
Not only is it freezing,
But there's no gas, too

Just our area.
This part of town makes the news
A late-night story

Plug in space heaters!
Pots of water set to boil;
Showers far too cold

A nasty cold snap
Busted pipes all over town
The plumbers make bank

Cactus are hard-hit
Prickly pear and such, wilted
Pieces break and fall

Saguaros seem fine
But chollas bend to the ground,
Nopales in piles

The trees bare at last
Mesquites lightly-fleshed now bone,
Their leaves fallen 'way

I saw, out in town,
A fountain in the deep shade;
T'was frozen solid.

It looked so strange, fake
Odd sight in the desert noon!
One girl took pictures

A weekend ordeal
The gas is once more restored
Hear the heaters sing!

No more spare blankets,
Breath no longer comes in clouds
Shorts are donned once more

Just in time, a thaw
Balmy days returned to us
Bitter chill distant