November's Wind

Tonight with sullen scowl it strips

The gold leaf from the limb

Tonight with cold and puckered lips

It churns the clouds of heav’n

Tonight the shiv'ring moon is dull

And teardrops lash the dark

As every ragged ditch is full

Of Autumn’s waning spark

Tonight it preys outside the door

And moans against the sash

Tonight, across a ghostly shore

Its howling billows crash

Tonight it weeps in sobs of gray

Across earth’s barren form

A sorrowful soliloquy

A bold and empty storm

Tonight the landscape is a floor

The wind a ruthless broom

It heaves down every corridor

And into every room

It sweeps in vile abandonment

The orchard and the vine

Across the muted continent

Without thought or design

Tonight we tuck the little child

Between warm quilts of down

And though the brooding wind is wild

And every leaf far-blown

It cannot chill the firelight

Where thoughts and memories flow

We hold our loved ones close tonight

And let the north wind blow

Janet Martin

The wind is raging and howling tonight...

Hang onto your hats and grab a coat before heading out.

Or, stay home by the fire, hold a loved one and keep warm.