Sunday, December 21, 2014

Winter Time

In honor of today's winter solstice


Winter-time
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding cake.

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, just got your comment. I've been doing that tradition for many many years, dating back to when I was a single gal. When I got married to Frankenberry, he liked the idea too, so joined in.

      Now it's even more fun, because we get to be silly together.

      Wishing you a Happy Christmas and an Oogie Boogie New Year.

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  2. Happy first day of winter! I loved this poet as a child.

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    Replies
    1. I like simple and rhyming poems. Some are SO hard for me to understand.

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  3. Although it has nothing to do with your post, I thought of you when reading this article: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/homeless-students-missouri-rise-some-clique-vacant-buildings
    I thought homeless was more a plight on the coasts than in the middle of the country.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for bringing the article to my attention. Was it on an NPR show, or did you read it online?

      I think there's homelessness everywhere.

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    2. I found it through an NEA twitter post.

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  4. Happy first day of winter! That was a beautiful poem ;)

    I am inviting you to join my giveaway for a beautiful, silver heart locket!
    Perfect for your loved ones ;)
    Details in my blog

    Happy Holidays!
    M
    http://theflowerduet.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. M, thanks for stopping by! I'll be off to check out your locket.

      Delete
  5. I've never read this poem before, and I like it. Thanks for sharing.

    Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete