The weather

... was fine when the first geese flew into town. the people ran into the streets yelling when the winter had finally broken down and crept away on broken, snow-stained legs. the winter... it started out like our friend and then hung around like an unwanted drinking poal way past closing time and bruising for a fist fall in the alley.

but the geese--did they scare away the old drunk, or was it just tired of pissing its cancerous white urine? now i know, now i have no doubt, now i am certain that it was winter, the mad dog, evil-eyed winter with delirium tremens who laid waste the landscape and laid the fodder for the disease that brought death and trembling to our town.,