Straight Line Winds

Incessant straight line winds, assail us from the East and as all good sailors know, are good for neither Man nor Beast The winds that are visiting us, like unwanted visitors from afar Stay with us, both day and night, their unwelcome presence never hidden It has one wishing for them to leave. wishing upon Winter's Northern star. Under forty below, that's what the instruments say I can feel the temperature drop as on cue by the hour All panes of glass are well chilled from where I stand They appear as December's foggy skies, as though from an icy shower. The power lines outside dance and howl and sway Crackling as the ice along them shatters in dismay The shelter struggles to grip them ever tighter still The house stands firm to keep the winds at bay Shutters chatter as the winds struggle to them undress. The raging straight line winds go on and on A kitchen woodstove holds a crackling relief to wage its wintery battle with the season its ongoing struggle to give off more heat than the wintery cold drafts that the winds force in. And late in the evening I put my head down to rest On one of my grandmother's quilts, one of her best I can hear the winds still howling, as wolves to the moon As I drift toward my dreamland, my wish is for Spring to come soon. Copyright Christine A Kysely December 12, 2010 (c) Copyright 2010 by Christine A Kysely, All Rights Reserved