Thanks to Anastasia at Booktalking who is our host today for poetry Friday. Drop in to see what's there!
Dear Winter,
I have missed you all the sweat-drenched summer,
gleeful that you were hanging behind
the glory that is fall.
Yet now that you are about to arrive
and I know that you are near,
I wonder about the long nights
and days of cold. I want
my sheets to be flannel and my comforter
filled with down.
I worry about the inches
of snow I will need to shovel,
and corners around which
my car will creep.
I already feel the tires slipping,
but managing to hit the curb only once.
Yet,
Winter, your snowflakes
quiet the days,
and soften the nights.
And the woolen scarves
hanging now in the back hall
wait to wrap me in hugs.
I will taunt
others to try my idea
of a towel warming rack.
I will give down socks for Christmas.
And keep the teapot whistling,
ready for sweet sips,
because finally the merest
thought of you causes me
to shiver with delight.
Truly Yours,
Linda
So comforting and familiar, yet completely orginal! Enjoyed this, even though I'm a bigger fan of summer than I am of winter. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt, I do like summer too, just not this past one!
DeleteLove love love this, Linda -- such a peaceful, wistful tone, and I like the shift in sentiment in the last 2 stanzas. I feel so comforted, though there are parts of winter that I dread. Here's to flannel sheets and cups of tea!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jama. This just came to me as I changed to flannel sheets. Thought it was time to write about all those things I like, or don't, about winter.
Delete"And the woolen scarves
ReplyDeletehanging now in the back hall
wait to wrap me in hugs."
Love this!
Thank you Anastasia. I do appreciate those scarves!
DeleteHi, Linda. I am a winter-lover, so the opening of your poem speaks to me. After all of the heat, sweatiness and glaring sun, I welcome cooler days and pray for snow, which we don't always get in Maryland. (An electric blanket helps on those cold nights!)
ReplyDeleteI've never had an electric blanket, just down comforters. Perhaps it's time? I wonder why you don't get so much snow, too far south? Thanks, Laura.
DeleteGorgeous photo - gorgeous poem. I'm a little allergic to winter (having grown up in Florida) and am usually ready for spring by about February. But your words celebrate things I must admit to enjoying - especially snug old flannel! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Robyn-there are some 'feeling' things that are wonderful, I agree.
DeleteHi Linda! I love winter, too. My favorite bit was the ending -- "shiver with delight" is perfect :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love that you love winter, too!
DeleteI love the image of
ReplyDelete"snowflakes
quiet the days,"
I don't live where it snows but I can imagine the snow falling and creating a cocoon of silence around us. Thank you for sharing your lovely poem.
Susan, there is a peacefulness one can feel even when waking, that it has snowed in the night. It is one of the most wonderful things. Thanks.
DeleteAh, isn't it just so, so quiet just after a snowstorm. The snow just absorbs all sound, and I find it fascinating! Thanks for sharing your very personal letter to Winter. I'm sure Winter won't mind...you didn't speak ill of it!
ReplyDeleteHa-I know you have snow, but don't know how much you like it, Donna. I guess it depends where one must travel at any given time. Thank you!
DeleteThanks all😊-am at a conference all day-will visit later!
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for leading me to Poetry Friday. I may have to take the plunge one of these days, but today, I am just reading. I love your poem. We have very different winters in South Louisiana. We don't have much color change because most of our trees are evergreens. We don't ever get snow. There may have been one back in 1988, but not much since. This week we've had a bite with a cool blast. I put the heavy blanket on and pulled out my flannel PJs. It's such a nice break from the heat.
Hi Margaret, I'm so glad you are at least visiting. I believe you belong here on Poetry Friday! Thanks.
DeleteLinda, how can Winter be anything but good to you after such an epistle? Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorite lines are:
"I have missed you all the sweat-drenched summer,
gleeful that you were hanging behind
the glory that is fall."
Well said!
Violet N.
Thank you Violet, I have enjoyed saying adieu to this last summer.
DeleteThese lines I can so perfectly imagine in this way. There is such a quietness in winter that you don't find during any other time of year. Love!
ReplyDeleteYet,
Winter, your snowflakes
quiet the days,
and soften the nights.
Thank you Betsy. It is a sweet, sweet time, isn't it?
DeleteIt's a mixed blessing isn't it, winter - a part of one loves the sheer beauty of snow laden trees and white landscapes, and the scenes of warm indoor refuge from the cold. But there's the other part one does not enjoy - the practical things - shoveling, driving on icy roads, the length of those days without much sun. I am not quite ready, yet, I think. My practical side shivers at the thought! But I love your poem - and especially these lines:
ReplyDeleteAnd the woolen scarves
hanging now in the back hall
wait to wrap me in hugs.
Thanks Tara. Yes, a mixed blessing for sure when I whine & gripe especially about the driving, but still, I do love the change & the sweet things like looking out & seeing the snowy landscape. Today it's going to be 65 or 70 degrees. Our weather is often so different!
DeleteOoh, I think this is my favorite of yours so far! Love the letter to Winter and all the wintery details -- how this poem makes me miss the winters of my youth in upstate New York. How I miss a beautiful, silent snowfall! I've become a bit of a sea-girl since moving to Italy, but every year about this time all I want to do is find a cabin in the mountains and stay there with my Christmas music and hot chocolate and thick socks. What's the sense of cold if there's no snow to make it worthwhile?
ReplyDeleteWinter, your snowflakes
quiet the days,
and soften the nights.
Ahhhhh.......:)
Thanks Renee, it is in us, isn't it if we have grown up with the snowy days & warm throws, hot cocoa. You paint a good picture too in your cabin!
DeleteLovely! Once again Poetry Friday makes me think it would be fun to live in a place with four seasons!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ruth-It can be nice, but change is also challenging. Maybe you can just visit!
DeleteI'm ready for winter, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary Lee. Wish I could have seen you in Vegas! Next year!
DeleteHow lovely to have four seasons in a year. We live in a tropical country, as you know - while I am grateful to see the sun every single day, I have experienced winter two years back with family, and I do know the pleasure of just snuggling near the fireplace with a warm quilt, hot cocoa, soft pillows and blankets and a great book. My favorite lines are the following:
ReplyDelete"finally the merest
thought of you causes me
to shiver with delight"
- how exciting to have a tryst with winter. :)
Thanks, Myra. Winter can be delightful, especially here in Colorado, but it also can be harsh for some. And both the excitement & the dread is not knowing what's going to happen.
Delete