Our Subaru left Chicago
and used each wheel of 4-wheel drive
to navigate 2 feet of snow.

The ice we saw off Lake Shore Drive
got worse as we drove by Sox Park,
but after 97th Street

the Interstate was dry. We mark
the trip-o-meter: it is set
at zero–so is temperature.

We take I-57 south–
by Memphis the results are clear:
one degree warmer on the route

for every 13 miles we drive.
By Florida (smile!) it’s 75!

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL [written from Central and South America without cell phone access]