The Second Blizzard

At the supermarket, a friend
stopped to talk
 about his flight
 back
  to the island, snowbanks
  towering
  after the blizzard

  While we talked
   a leaf spun
    through the doorway
    gliding near us
    as a
    second blizzard
    brewed outside

    “I’ll leave you
     to your shopping…
     before the storm
     gets bad,”
     my friend murmured
     eyes trailing
     the spent leaf
     that drifted
     close by

      I bagged my groceries
      as the snow
      thickened
      sensing
      how storms
      hasten time
      overtaking
      the shopping trip, languid
      conversations

       the small and
       delicate
       arrangements
       of our lives