Sandra, your title: "Life Song" is the one I will use. Thank you very much. The more I see it within the context of the poem, the more I realise how appropriate it is. I'm still pondering whether to compose a SATB setting, along the lines Maeve suggested. Then again, the poem & a vocal setting could happily coexist...why not?

       Please forgive my 'snow joke', gnu. I was born several miles east of where I now live & by now, in the 40s/50s, there would have been a first covering of snow. A 'White Christmas' was practically guaranteed. We lived at the top of a hill, surrounded by gently sloping fields which were perfect for sledging. It was not uncommon for us to be snowed in...shovels & the resulting aching muscles were the order of the day. My Grandmother planned ahead, so the larder was well-stocked...she'd had plenty of practise in self-sufficiency throughout WW2. The snow often stayed until well into February, leaving those strange, rather grubby piles that simply refused to melt. All of which makes my: "What's Snow?" comment, unfunny & clumsy.
                         With Love,
                                          Nigel
                                          xxxxx