Winter’s bar graph rises

[dukealien]

the neighbor pulls into the drive way, tires crunching
ice so cold it sounds like waves closing over.
This year the lake will freeze before Christmas,
one bright spot in a year of humanity’s shit.

(Author’s note: can I swear on here?)

Not only can you swear, you may. 

In this case, the vulgarity is an effective late turn revealing the speaker's attitude toward a phenomenon theretofore only  described.

I guess it's different near a lake - in mid-continental agrarian regions dry snow mixes with ash from the final stubble-burn-off of the year to form a cement-like material called "snert."  It gets into everything and stays until May.  But at the very beginning it does look pretty.