Thursday, December 10, 2009

snow



Nature's tidying
up again,
with her blanket
of soft forgiveness.

Like Huck Finn,
she's white washed
my human fence
with her sacred vows
of chastity.

Flaws are hidden
for a night
in silent equality,
while pure delight
of holy communion

melts on my tongue,
and makes me giddy
in the sacraments
of winter.



willow, 2009




For more Theme Thursday participants click [HERE].


photo from tumblr.com

93 comments:

  1. "Nature's tidying up again"
    I love that!
    That pic is fantastic.
    Wonderful piece Willow, thanks for sharing.
    Happy early tt to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. while pure delight
    of holy communion

    melts on my tongue,

    wow. willow this is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the poem, phrases as "white washed my human fence with her sacred vows of chastity."

    Love the Willow on the side-bar!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Willow...this is marvelous! I really like the way you relate the snow to forgiveness and holy communion...all very white & pure. And wouldn't it be nice if all our flaws could be hidden in silent equality...it would be a much more pleasent world. Very thought provoking work : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. i wont lie...i was confused as to what day it was for a minute...love these lines...
    she's white washed
    my human fence
    with her sacred vows
    of chastity...
    all flaws covered...
    wow!

    rain turning to ice here tonight...wish it was snow!

    ReplyDelete
  6. A perfect analogy. The comparison of the purity of the snow and human imperfections being covered by it's blanket, awesome.
    Your poetry is soul stirring.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I believe we're in for quite a lot of that "forgiveness" tonight.

    By tomorrow we should be very tidy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love it, love it...your words not the crappy weather!!! I know you love winter and I would too if I didn't own a small business in the Midwest...oh, the economy woes!!!

    I think of you every time we get snow in the forecast, knowing you're loving every beautiful, tasty morsel of it...enjoy my friend!!! Way more a comin' your way!

    Stranded in Iowa...
    Sweet

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely poem--love the "soft forgiveness" line.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "Flaws are hidden for a night." I love that about snow. It equalizes the landscape. Course up here the flaws are hidden for about three months.....

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi! Willow,
    What a lovely poem I like this line from your poem too...

    "Nature's tidying
    up again,
    with her blanket
    of soft forgiveness..."


    Thanks, for sharing!
    DeeDee ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  12. That was so inspiring.

    You are so wonderful with words..

    a very talented lady..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful, willow, truly wonderful. I have never lost my childlike love of the snow and even now, at the age of 53, I still find it hard to go to bed if it is snowing outside. Of course, where I live in Spain we do not see as much snowfall as you get at the manor.

    But let me just say that after reading this superb poem, I am convinced I will never see a snowfall again without hearing a voice in my head whispering:

    "... while pure delight
    of holy communion

    melts on my tongue,
    and makes me giddy
    in the sacraments
    of winter".

    In a few short lines you've forever changed and made sacramental my future enjoyment of strolls in the snow. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Incredibly lovely AGAIN. Yes, willow I can se wahy you stick to poety for one--you are so so good at it. this is just darling. Love the photo you chose too--sweert.

    ReplyDelete
  15. And do you know Willow, I had a poem just like that (word for word) that I was going to post. Well you got in first. Your Darwin to my Wallace. My snow poem has melted in front of my eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your poem is truly inspiring, Willow. It touched my heart.

    ReplyDelete
  17. oh i love this...this is how i feel about rain in LA, please forgive us because we know not what we do, dear earth.

    much love

    ReplyDelete
  18. darn fine willow! tonight the weather is building to a crescendo of snow and rain and ice pellets. the first big storm. hooooray!!! the bike's put away. steven

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bravo, so completely true and so completely fun!
    Mary Ann

    ReplyDelete
  20. Willow that is the most beautiful of all your poems I have read. I agree with Lorenzo, I will never see snow again without thinking about it in sacred terms. I saw the weather forecast the snow is gonna hit us all in central USA and across the west and to the Atlantic coast.
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
  21. You know, you're pretty good at this poetry stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Excellent imagery...

    but wasn't it Tom Sawyer?

    ReplyDelete
  23. I like how it gets soooo quiet.

    ReplyDelete
  24. If it has to be winter...it does look so much better covered in white and tidy! Let it snow...let it snow ..let it snow! Lovely poem willow. I so enjoy your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lovely lovely lovely! I can tell this was written by someone who LIKES winder :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Or, you know, WINTER - whichever.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What is it about snow that erases all the imperfections of life? A good snowfall makes life, the earth, appear new, without blemish, without mistake. It's like a new beginning for everyone under it's blanket.

    Lovely,
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  28. ...the sacraments of winter ... lovely thought!

    ReplyDelete
  29. JeffScape, well, Norman Rockwell painted Tom and Huck painting the fence together, so maybe I'm not too far off base.

    http://www.nrm.org/2009/09/norman-rockwells-tom-sawyer-huckleberry-finn/

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wonderful poetry, you are so talented! Love the picture, too. Don't you just love snow?

    ReplyDelete
  31. The image fits the poem so well. Lovely wordsmithing Willow, just lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  32. whitewashed my human fence with her sacred vows of chastity?

    girl, you've got to publish a book. i would buy your book of poetry.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gorgeous. I live in Florida. Zero snow!

    ReplyDelete
  34. willow, the picture and poem and lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Catholic imagery goes so well with the weather! Very nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Your poem is like snowfall itself. And having settled, creates a sense of peace and wonder.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Ah, I love the line "her soft blanket of forgiveness." Actually, I love every line! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  38. wonderful Willow, just wonderful :)

    ReplyDelete
  39. We can now confirm that whoever coined the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" either got their math all wrong or was not reading your poetry. Still shaking my grateful head over this one.

    ReplyDelete
  40. How lovely, thank you, I havent seen snow for years.

    ReplyDelete
  41. A Snowflake Becomes A Communion Host.

    ReplyDelete
  42. That made me want to put on a jacket and go skiing! I actually read a poem that I understood! haha!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Love the opening on this! And we are currently in the start of a possibly big storm, just now. Good thing I don't have a morning commute :)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Oh well, that is the way it should be. Somehow we all got the idea that one post a day does the trick and that's not often enough for a lot of people.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Just beautiful Willow. So true that snow covers a multitude of 'sins'!!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hello Willow,

    Well, I'm glad this posted early because it may just persuade you to write another! Your words create images of peacefulness and gratitude.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I sure love this photo! Black and white makes it 'perfect'!

    Di
    The Blue Ridge Gal

    ReplyDelete
  48. Oh, you lucky creature of winter! You have snow. At last, hooray. And that first line points at a season of atonement:

    'Nature's tidying
    up again,
    with her blanket
    of soft forgiveness.'

    Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  49. That's beautiful Madame Willow!! LOVE,LOVE, LOVE, that header!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. i love this one.
    you are brilliant.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  51. First class poem Willow, thank you for sharing it. Sorry I have not been by for ages, lots of catching up to do. I so love your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Hope and purity keep on appearing..reminding us what we wish for..lovely poem..thank you..

    ReplyDelete
  53. Beautiful Willow!Really beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  54. I only wish we would receive some forgiveness instead of the tears of rain. Wonderful post and picture.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Beautiful! Daaaling....you must get these published so we all can enjoy them all..and also your photoshot talent too.... please come over to my blog and see the picture... I love it! My friend from AZ sent it to me. It is snowing and blowing over here in Hoosier Land.
    The Bach

    ReplyDelete
  56. Love snow on the tongue. This is something I still like to do. Great poem.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Great photo to accompany your wonderful poem, Willow. When the snow first hits, it's so ethereal and just exquisite. It's only after it turns to slush that I'm not so thrilled with it!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Absolutely lovely... one of my favorite Willow poems thus far! My boys keep asking when we'll have snow... hmmm, maybe in another 10 years!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Oh, I love that communion and sacraments reference. This one is just soooo good!

    ReplyDelete
  60. Love the picture....and the poem..

    ReplyDelete
  61. Oh my, this is beautiful, Willow...This feels so very spiritual to me.

    When are you going to compile these into a book?

    ReplyDelete
  62. Wow you really got a load of snow. Great photo . And love the pom. Snow always makes me feel clean and the color white is soothing to the soul

    ReplyDelete
  63. I am sitting here...speechless....again..you are amazing..what a talent....

    So very beautiful...

    thanks for sharing it with us....

    Kary
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  64. Willow, this is just wonderful! I love the religious imagery as it is so fitting for this pure white garment of snow.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I enjoyed this poem. Seems this storm has left a swathe of snow from Arizona up and across the US. We are only feeling the cold. Oh, how I loved snow days long ago.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Willow...how sweet... and there is so much HOPE and PEACE when flaws are hidden if only for ONE night!

    ReplyDelete
  67. It went south of lake Ontario and North of Lake Huron.
    We had mostly rain. There is still no snow here. Yours looks wonderful and your poem celebrates the event expressively. I like your comparisons to "white" and that snow becomes "the sacraments of winter."

    ReplyDelete
  68. when are you going to update your "what's happening" side bar, btw? I like to check in and see how my blog friends are doing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  69. Gorgeous imagery...and the woman sticking her tongue out for a snow flake--- something I might do. Happy TT.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Sending you great gratitude for this, Willow. Pure joy!

    ReplyDelete
  71. Willow, I am mesmorized by your incredible writing skills. You capture the reader's attention from the very start and nail it in the end as well. This is so beautifully written. I could not have thought of a better description of snow. I'm going to guess that you are are beautiful inside as your writing.

    Happy TT.

    ReplyDelete
  72. you packed a lot into a few words...wow! You have the soul of a poet, and didn't know it. Happy TT

    ReplyDelete
  73. A very lovely image...

    I'm really loving that snowy willow pic!

    ReplyDelete
  74. This is perfect, beautiful. Damn you are good!

    ReplyDelete
  75. Hey, NitWit, the header picture is one I took last February. It is snowing now, just a tad, and has collected in little pockets around the drive. I've got my fingers crossed!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Well, Mr. Mmm, actually nothing has changed in my sidebar events. We're still eating the huge pork roast I made, and I've been listening to my von Otter Christmas album all week. Gotta love those leftovers!

    ReplyDelete
  77. Looks like your reading public approves. I told you they would if you would just put the work out there. I may post a couple of winter poems over the next couple of days. You could trim down the number of commenters if you would just post something political. Pappy

    ReplyDelete
  78. Beautiful poem and how I would love some snow. It does not feel like the holidays around here ever. The rest of the country is drinking hot chocolate and we are drinking lemonade. We had a record heat yesterday of 87 degrees. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  79. A very different take from mine, and it is much appreciated! You might be able to convince me a little that snow is not as melancholy as I always feel it to be...

    Pure loveliness, your page has a quiet, cozy snowy feel today.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Very "cool" post on an equally "cool" subject!

    ReplyDelete
  81. Willow - love the photo over to the right of the snow-covered tree in a field. There is something magical about it. It's really breath-taking. Loved the poem, too, btw. :)

    ReplyDelete
  82. The first line is just beautiful. Lovely poem, Willow. Happy TT!

    ReplyDelete
  83. The trouble is, willow, that she then untidies it all by melting it into slush. Love the poem.

    ReplyDelete
  84. "Flaws are hidden" Great line and so true.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Ok, excused then! Well, at least it;s good leftovers--far beats mac and cheese or something else equally horrid

    ReplyDelete
  86. Thank you, gentle readers, for your lovely and generous comments. You're the best, dear ones. ~xx

    ReplyDelete
  87. Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing it

    ReplyDelete
  88. "Flaws are hidden" isn't that just the charm of snow. Everything looks so pristine, like an untrodden beach. Lovely imagery.

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)