Hath winter then a heart of tenderness
For landscapes clad in humble brown and gray?
Where farewell and arrival coalesce
Winter spills forth as autumn slips away
She touches with redemption-tinted garb
The stricken aftermath of summer cheer
Her sugar-coated kisses fill the yard
Where yesterday it suffered autumn’s tear
And where the wanton field lies naked, bare
She covers grass and furrow with the gleam
Of diamonds fit to garnish angel’s hair
Tucking to earth the farmer’s latent dream
Granting a gentle respite to his care
Filling the sky with snowflake-choir requiem
***
Tis right to entertain both joy and grief
This season; the portent of hope or fear
Where we embark anew, beyond the sheaf
Of garnered days that shape the bygone year
Like gathered harvest, this year’s deeds are wrought
Preserved beyond the elements of time
Its echoes tuning pastures of our thought
Where longing and fulfillment toll their chime
And now a gracious sheath of purity
Embellishes the dull and stricken plain
A mother with compassion’s sympathy
Blankets the grim reminders of our pain
Drawing our eyes to present mystery
History sleeps; to linger there is vain
***
Hath winter then a heart of tenderness?
White snow covers a year of scarlet tears
The naked bough reaches for her caress
The heart reaches beyond past hurt and fears
To offerings of hope and happiness
Unblemished; yet again a gift of grace
Ignores our monuments of selfishness
Where we have scarred her perfect virgin face
With sordid sins of foolish fantasies
Time’s vault will not exhume our leaps of woe
But gently leads us from these agonies
Across a threshold unmarred as fresh snow
Granting to us but this; our memories
To keep the good then let the remnant go
Janet Martin~
Winter wanders in
wearing a white bridal gown
earth carries her glass slippers
I was hoping to write a new poem for first day of winter but my day is slipping away so here is a re-run.
Last year earth carried her veil, this year we are in freezing rain or snow depending on the temps!
