Monday, January 04, 2010

Clean Slate

















January snow
a crisp, white page
a new year.

Nature sketches
last years grasses
to remind us of next June’s.

Hardwoods show their bones
redbirds paint
the hemlocks.

In the cold pewter sky
a crow featherstitches
the clouds.

White flakes drift like
windblown curtains -
January snow.



Photo curtesy of Russell
http://iowagrasslands.blogspot.com/

15 comments:

Kass said...

How nice that you give Russell credit for his beautiful poem - and a link to his site. I especially liked "tomorrow's hardwoods" in your poem.

breathe as me said...

a beautiful January poem...like a blank journal page just waiting for footsteps and paw prints to write their hopes and dreams and secrets down for safe keeping...

Pauline said...

Kass - the poem is mine, the wonderful winter photo is Russells...

Thanks Joanne :)

goatman said...

It is that "cold pewter sky" which russles my bones and causes me to rise and put more oak on the fire, brrr!

A beautiful new year to you.

Pauline said...

Thanks goatman - to you, too!

Barbara said...

Such great winter images. I don't much like the cold, but I do like the way you describe it.

Anonymous said...

January snow
a crisp, white page
a new year.

what a perfect beginning to a thoroughly rewarding poem.

Ruth L.~ said...

Your words... there is magic in how you use them to paint such an accurate picture.

Pewter sky: perfect.

Reya Mellicker said...

Wow, this is so beautiful! The poem and image, juxtaposed, make me feel so serene! Bravo!!

Kass said...

Oops, that was a slip of the fingers and the mind. I know you wrote the poem and I even commented how much I liked the hardwoods showing their bones. Sometimes I comment to quickly and don't proof read.

Pauline said...

thanks Quaze, you who have your own way with words

Barbara - the cold is all part of it but too much can be bothersome, I agree

Thanks Ruth!


Pleased that it pleased you Reya :)

Kass - not a problem. I do the same thing!

Russell said...

Enjoyed your beautiful poem. And glad you liked this image.

Today here in Iowa we have another blizzard. Lots of snow, cold, ice and wind. But this is January and this is Iowa, so it is not unexpected.

That peaceful image of the fence and shadow is gone, gone, gone today! Heh!

I always enjoy stopping by your blog.

Take care.

Land of shimp said...

What a beautiful photograph (with thanks to Russel, clearly) and the accompanying words were perfect, Pauline.

Ask and ye shall receive, be afraid, be very afraid. The Spam Haiku archive:

http://mit.edu/jync/www/spam/

Pauline said...

Thank you Russell, both for the loan of the photo and the kind words. We're due for more snow tomorrow...

LOS - I will NEVER eat Spam again (though I may write more haiku)

Meggie said...

Wonderful marriage of photograph and words. Perfection.