Sunday 17 May 2009

Ice Fire


In a corner of our garden

we built up a massive snowman,

stood back and marveled at our work:

the darkling eyes and ivory cheeks

and ears made out of orange skin,

 

a moon shaped mouth from crinoline,           

an apple that we chopped in half

became a nose onto his face

(we chomped the other piece with zest),

stood back and clocked the snowman’s gaze.

We looked at him, he looked at us

or else that seemed the way it was

 

but then a wind harassed and dark

engulfed the scene, enforced a wrap.

Inside, hot chocolate warmed our hands

but rain started pattering hard;

telling tall tales from arctic times

on windows, walls; battering rams

attacked a house, attacked our home.

 

Next day, we ventured to sense him;

of how he’d changed, withstood a life.

We hoped for fire, a wink, a spark

but slowly he had, through the dark,

stripped of himself; become his block of ice.

 

8 comments:

  1. haunting -- love the dark imagery juxtaposed with the pure whiteness of the snow(man), (whom) I've always found a little eerie, like scarecrows.

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  2. Funny poem of the snowman, and a real cold and icy man he is! But there is warmth in the house and warmth to be together with each other and tell stories! How nice a wintermeetings can be!

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  3. Another great poem!

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  4. Great imagery. Very easy to see and feel both the emotions as well as the scenes. Loved it.

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  5. Loved it. Most unusual and therefore refreshing.

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  6. Nice! beautiful description of what happened

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  7. I truly loved it. Reminds me of Longfellow

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