"Snow" by David Berman

Why did I choose this poem?

David Berman’s poem “Snow,” revived my nostalgic memories of a winter morning, while introducing complex and intricate themes about family life.

David Berman

• David Berman was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on January 4, 1967.
• After graduating from UVA, he moved to New Jersey and formed a indie rock band called the “Silver Jews.”
• Berman and the Silver Jews released a series of albums before he came out with his first collection of poetry, Actual Air, in 1999.
• In 2009, he announced that he would be retiring from music making to focus on screenwriting and poetry.

Reading of "Snow"

Walking through a field with my little brother Seth

I pointed to a place where kids had made angels in the snow.

For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels

had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground.

He asked who had shot them and I said a farmer.

Then we were on the roof of the lake.

The ice looked like a photograph of water.

Why he asked. Why did he shoot them.

I didn't know where I was going with this.

They were on his property, I said.

When it's snowing, the outdoors seem like a room.

Today I traded hellos with my neighbor.

Our voices hung close in the new acoustics.

A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling.

We returned to our shoveling, working side by side in silence.

But why were they on his property, he asked.

“The ice looked like a photograph of water” (Line 7).

Simile 1

• Berman compares ice on top of a lake to a “photograph of water.”
• By comparing these two images, Berman portrays the ice as clear and solid, as it appears to look like water no longer in motion (frozen by a photograph).

“When it’s snowing, the outdoors seem like a room… A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling” (Line 11-14).

Simile 2

• Initially, Berman makes a direct comparison, stating that the outdoors “seem like a room when it is snowing.”
• The word “room” takes on a positive connotation in this context, as one correlates the falling snow to the warmth and comfort which a “room” in a house can provide.

“Walking through a field with my little brother Seth” (Line 1).

Cohesion

• The first line of the poem directly sets the scene of the narrative and builds the underlying structure.
• Even when Berman jumps back in time when talking about the speaker’s interaction with the neighbors, the reader still knows that the focus of the poem is on the two brothers and their walk through the woods.

“For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels / had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground” (Line 3-4).

Enjambment

• In this phrase, Berman uses enjambment to connect two lines, adding fluidity to the speech.
• This is the only one of two uses of enjambment throughout the poem, with every other line ending with a period (end-stopped line).
• The use of enjambment draws attention to this line, which is pivotal to the theme of the poem.

“We returned to our shoveling, working side by side in silence” (Line 15).

Alliteration

• Berman draws attention to the final scene by using alliteration.
• In this phrase, Berman repeats the “s” noise in “shoveling,” “side,” and “silence.
• Despite no standard form elements, the alliteration adds poetic feel to the free verse.

“For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels / had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground” (Line 3-4).

A Universal Symbol

• The speaker tells his brother that the snow angels were created when a “troop of angels” were shot and then “dissolved” in the snow.
• “Angels” are a universe symbol for innocence and purity. The speaker discusses their death, which in turn represents a loss of innocence in the brothers lives.