Snow, Already!?

If entropy is a measure of the momentum
achieved in the entry of one season
overtaking the departure of its near
predecessor, one would have to agree
that the inevitability of winter's early
appearance is a long, drawn-out affair
incrementally arrived and barely noted
like the skill of a rapacious but patient
beast slinking through the undergrowth
of a jungle to achieve the surprise that
renders its victim helpless. And so it so
often seems that there is a suddenness
to the cold that overtakes fall's gradual
departure and the roaring wind gusts
that herald the arrival of the first snows
appear unexpected in the forgetful minds
of those whose years have prepared them
but whose thoughts refuse to credit the swift
passage of time disguised as the natural
order of the seasons. Already! snow swirls
in the atmosphere, wind plastering it to
every surface, and the ground has been
penetrated by frost as winter's sneak entry
in the barren fall landscape is contrived.