Best Thaw Poems
Permafrost upon the boughs,
in a glistening diamond wood;
where the water meets the Terra,
thin sheets in semi-melt
perform a slow ballet.
Winter has cast its strangling hold inside and outside.
The joys I have known are gone.
Cold winds blow bleak and harsh.
The flowers in my garden have wilted and withered.
All things sweet have passed and flown away.
Flakes of snow, layer on layer, lie piled within,
And harden as rocks with worms of fear inching their way,
To eat away all the delicate buds of hope.
Spring, Oh! Spring grace me with your regal smile,
Brightening my sky with constellations of stars.
Crash down the walls that segregate, leaving me a fugitive,
And pour love's balm into my bruised soul.
Possess me as an unseen benevolent spirit,
Thawing the frozen interiors with your warm sunshine!
spring thaw
the ice breaks-
into song
THAW AT CROWSNEST PASS
Huge mountains massed and cliffs sheer. It’s March
And endless blue sky cold is held back by the Chinook arch,
Snowy prairies rolling into their thousand-mile realm -
The landscape is gigantic, majestic, orchestrated to overwhelm.
But I stand and watch the lake-ice thaw,
Surprised by the tiny delicate music -
Descant ice - jingling, jangling, tinkling
In delicate accompaniment to the giant symphony.
Ice chunks tangled in slow waves with the wind
Tiny tintinnabulation before total ablation.
There is silence and harmony around the sound,
The small melody of the ice breaking into spring’s chorus.
Note: Crowsnest Pass is the southernmost way through the Rocky Mountains in Canada
Detached from reality
He gazes haughtily
From the cold aloofness
Of his desolate pinnacle...
Far below
Dressed in vivid green and mauve
She patiently waits
Yearning to catch his wandering eye.
His face is stone cold, snow white
And yet he seems to notice me
A fledgling meadow
Needing sustenance to survive...
May passion's fire grow to melt his heart
So I, too, may thrive
And add a touch of colour
To his world of black and white.
----------------------------------------------------
Co-written by Paul Callus & Carolyn Devonshire
Detached from reality
He gazes haughtily
From the cold aloofness
Of his desolate pinnacle...
Far below
Dressed in vivid green and mauve
She patiently waits
Yearning to catch his wandering eye.
His face is stone cold, snow white
And yet he seems to notice me
A fledgling meadow
Needing sustenance to survive...
May passion's fire grow to melt his heart
So I, too, may thrive
And add a touch of colour
To his world of black and white.
----------------------------------------------------
Co-written by Paul Callus & Carolyn Devonshire
© March 2017
JANUARY THAW
the freeze is over
gods given up hot cocoa
all nature’s things weep
the freeze has ended
sun struck branches are dripping
nut hunt thaw is on
the freeze has ended
temperature 33
icicles crying
the freeze has ended
and foolish thoughts turn to spring
winter gods chuckle
The bright sun shines
on the lawn, newly thawed.
By this beautiful day
I am humbled and awed.
Spring is still several
weeks from today.
The bite in the air says
Winter's not gone away.
Birds are flittering
through trees of green
and if this is Winter
it's the loveliest I've seen.
The cold and I
do not get along
but I can forgive it
when I hear the bird's song.
A beautiful day
all shiny and new
on grass newly thawed,
now covered with dew.
19/01/2013
tiny drops of water cut through
folds of refuse
laying dormant in the
crest of spring
where fissures of melting ice
retreat.
I lay sprawled against the top sheet
Eyes fixed on the tempered glass
before me
drawing circles with the
heat from my breath.
The yellow light, daunting,
and new, creeps slowly
aware of the struggle ahead
Winter's refuse marks its ground
at times, forcing the sun back
tucked high in grey skies.
The yellow light rebounds
stronger this time
awaiting winter's demise.
Drip...Drip...Drip
Slowly---Too Slowly
The melt begins
hour by hour...day by day
warmth knocking to come in
peeling off the ice...piece by piece
thawing...layer by layer
exposing a fertile ground
starting fresh...starting anew
planting the seeds
nurturing it with love
growing stronger and stronger
fresh spring feelings blossoming in full bloom
creating a brand new world
skaters slide on ice
white mountains rise behind lake...
ducks long for spring thaw
Entry for Michael Falotico's "An Haiku from Your Window" contest
by Diane Locksley
SPRING THAW
what a sorry sight
the poor drowned grass muddied o’er
dirty snow with tracks
but the skies are thankful for
a chance to the earth restore
and the animals
seem to walk with quicker step
breathing earth’s freshness
are aware but not pensive
accepting nature’s goodness
****
sun melts ice, water
stream rushes toward river...
calms in warm ocean
Written 3/2/2022
Contest: H Forms - Traditional Nature Haiku Poetry
Sponsor: Constance LaFrance
~~ 2nd~~
Sometimes I slip
slip to that world of numb smiles,
flavourless fruit,
damp emotion--
words so watered with the heart's blood
they weigh like anchors down my chest.
The food suddenly tasteless,
colour lacks its lustre,
and a frost
crystalizes along my veins
to the centre of my eyes.
Then the thaw is so quiet and subtle
like innocent children
sneaking from their bed,
until I feel in my fingertips
a tingling energy
I want to unleash.
As frozen winter marshes start to thaw
with sunlight shining on the gentle hills,
the fingertips of springtime softly draw
on cattails growing midst the warming thrills.
When dewdrops form on buds by nature’s law,
the melting hearts start yearning to fulfill,
and nature’s rousing cycle starts anew;
to frigid winter days I bid adieu.
February 19, 2021