Saturday, January 11, 2014

Looking out the Window




the clouds descend
thick & ominous
fogging the windows
grey & grainy

thick snow drapes the garden
silent & cold as empty playground
the forecast today is rain
and anything above 0 C is a cause
to celebrate (3 C today)

when i was a child living in the east,
my siblings & i often wondered how snow
felt like & we would douse powder all over ourselves
clapping & running around sun-drenched room,
which made my mom angry with all the mess

now i know it's sticky & stubborn
as gum on car sides & windows
it's soft as feathers on first blush
that soon becomes heavy as loneliness
can be

I skype my aging parents & see it's summer,
its always summer from their window -
tropical garden, blooming pink blooms
unchanged, just the way when I left home -

I tell my mom,
'you should see when snow melts
and spring buds peek from soil,
the garden is so beautiful'

I say it fervently
As if the world is ripening blue
purple & succulent as mangosteen


Posted for the D'verse Poets Pub ~  Have a good weekend ~

39 comments:

  1. there's beauty in all the seasons... for me spring is esp. beautiful as well.. when everything starts to bud again...the new life... nature giving birth... and even though i grew up with snow, i still find it so magical..

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  2. as if the world is ripening...yes, after the snow as it melts the world comes alive...i love the snow...i am sad we have had none so far this year...funny on dousing with powder (missspelling?) my mom would have freaked as well...ha

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  3. I agree anything above 0 C. is reason to celebrate. We have above 0 today, and it feels like a 'heat wave.' At this time of the year I envy your parents who always have a summer view from their window. But then again they do not know the feeling of joy when the snow does eventually melt!

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  4. Well done Grace. You wove a wonderful emotion into the poem and made it evocotive. >KB

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  5. see when snow melts - beautiful words woven together to bring this to life. That emotion and hope as we wait for spring.

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  6. This winter is a bear, pulled too soon from hibernation, bellowing & billowing with anger; makes me happy to live in WA state close to the Sound, and so far without a real snow storm. I never have enjoyed Winter, makes me envious of you who do.

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  7. I enjoyed your different perspectives on snow, as a child who did not know snow and as an adult who now knows it can be overwhelming.
    "now i know it's sticky & stubborn / as gum on car sides & windows" - great imagery here, Grace!

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  8. Yes, I think of loneliness as snow....and oh so quiet. I came to the high country to live in snow, but with climate change, I wonder.....

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  9. Winter can have it's moments.. but their affect seems less affective the longer the season runs on...

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  10. BRRR... I don't think I could handle living in such cold. Today it's in mid-70's and I'm loving it!

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  11. geeze... It's actually about 30+ degrees warmer here than before in MI... lots of rain is melting all the snow... I'm quite glad... smiles.. nice write

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  12. Oh I love winter.. I love snow.. Until I long for spring...

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  13. Beautiful Grace, love how it's always summer from your parent's window and how you see the beauty of a winter's day.

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  14. Yeah a little warmer is time to celebrate hen it gets cold again lol rain gets rid of the crap though, hate the snow

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  15. As if the world is ripening blue
    purple & succulent as mangosteen

    The eastern touch to the western winter, how nice! As youngsters we could 'travel' and place ourselves in any region around the world. The beauty of youthful imagination. Wonderful write Grace!

    Hank

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  16. Beautiful poem with still a yearning for the tropics!

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  17. Beautiful anecdote of snow, Grace.

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  18. ..that soon becomes heavy as loneliness.. great line... beautiful poem. I grew up in snow but have lived in CA for many years. I do not miss those 0-3 temps.

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  19. Winter at its best! Especially those first blooms of spring.

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  20. i try to convince myself that the changes of seasons with all their extreme machinations come about as a reminder that I'm alive

    snow, when it limits my mobility does prick the attention to loneliness but then i try
    to turn that into an appreciation of a moment of pensive solitude

    liked this, mi amiga

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  21. The best thing about snow in the yard is it's easier to see the dog poop that needs picking up and the worst thing is my small dog is pure white and easily is lost in the snow banks.

    But I liked your parents place, they take in roommates?

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  22. I love this..the nostalgic feel as well. Happy Sunday Grace.

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  23. "I skype my aging parents & see it's summer, / its always summer from their window" Nostalgic, yes, perspective of a child -- always summer from our parents' window, even as they age into their winters. Beautiful.

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  24. I love the different aspect of snow, especially heavy as loneliness and the memories of your childhood home.

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  25. The snow can so feel like loneliness, but the promise that comes with the spring melt is a feeling to fervently anticipate. "Silent and cold as empty playground"...marvelous line.

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  26. I like how you show the different faces of "snow." One of the things I like about Winter is that there is always a sense of the hope of spring just beneath the surface. Although, I can relate to the sense of loneliness of the snow.

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  27. heavy as loneliness - a beautiful line, Grace - i liked the turn to your parents at the end where it is always summer - lovely - K

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  28. i love this....it is funny, how when we are amidst a heat wave we wish for winter. yet once we've had our fill of winter we want the heatwave again!

    stacy lynn mar
    http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/

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  29. Love the childhood images and memories - love the use of the word mangosteen.

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  30. I love this piece..so finely crafted.

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  31. funny how we thought to have fun when young, not thinking of the consequences of powder all over...the loneliness can occur anytime but is more stark in the winter..

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  32. Beautiful poem... every window has a different season...like the perspectives. :)

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  33. some warm memories to beat the cold winds there. stay warm Grace!

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  34. Lovely piece Grace...

    peace and love
    1ManView

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  35. I love your contrast of the windows here and the nostalgia that goes with it. I have to chuckle a bit towards the end because it seemed like you are convincing yourself about the joys of winter (which I find myself doing every so often). :-)

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  36. Nature is beautiful in every form. Great imagery and a very fluid write.
    -HA

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  37. it was 86 F where I live today. A large man-made fire sullies the sky, its smoke blown across the ocean until the sky is a pulsed brown, the hills are brown from lack of rain. they say it's the worst drought since 1976. I wish for rain, but we're "blessed" with sun. ~

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