14 FEBRUARY 1964, Page 24

Snow Fell

Snow fell last night. The town, the,country lie Submissive to its faceless empery.

I walked this morning past the smothered woods, Then past the shopfronts and the doggy flats. The birches prise the lips of snow apart. The passing cars fling slush among the dirt. The birches stand like lovers, swollen, taut. The snow in sallow heaps stands round the street. Tonight the snow will tumble from the trees; No one will hear the roaring as it thaws. , Tomorrow as we chatter in the street We'll feel the chattering slush caress our feet.

LAURENCE LERNER