Winter Solstice

Don't be fooled by the sugared streets,
the icebox cold,
snow falling as from a baker's sifter.
The earth is an old oven
but reliable. Just this morning,
huddled under flannel and down,
the low rumble you mistook
for a snowplow
was the reigniting
of her slow preheat.

---

The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurred at 7:04am EST.

Comments

[Peter]

Wow! You have returned to verse with a great one. I love the description of the streets and snow, of the earth as "an old oven / but reliable." It's all great. The last two lines are fine, but to me don't measure up to the excellence of the rest of the poem (I can't picture missing the flipped switch. Missing as in overlooking it or not having it? Maybe a more tectonic word in place of "slow"? I dunno. I wouldn't be so picky if I weren't so thrilled with this poem.)

I love the way the icebox leads to the sifter leads to the oven, just as winter leads to spring leads to summer. So fitting for the solstice. Bravo!

[Leslee]

Thanks, Peter. I like the tectonic idea. Not sure what I can come up with. But I revised the last part a bit - tighter.

[Sara]

Heh heh heh -- That is one way to look at it. :)

Nice one.

[marja-leena]

Fabulous image and poem, Leslee!

[Lorianne]

Ah, yes...I was thrown off, too, by the flipped switch in the earlier version, so this revision is much clearer. Flipped switches don't rumble, but re-ignition does.

[leslee]

Thanks, Sara. I did say it was a *slow* preheat, no? ;-)

Marja-Leena: Thank you! It's a long tradition, really, of making best of the dark and cold.

Lorianne: Yes, you're right about the switch vs re-ignition. As I told Peter in email, I dashed it off in a couple of hours this morning and posted, so it did need some re-thinking.

[Dave]

Good to see you relighting the candle of poetry! As for me, I will be missing the long nights...

[maria]

You know, as the lone voice of dissent here, I loved the original switch -- made me think of how, when the heat comes on in my house, the rumble s proceeded by a clicking sound, as if a switch went off.

But that's not what I meant to write when I came back here to comment, where I found this thread already: I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the poem and how great it was to find you writing poetry again!

[Lady P]

I think the revision must already have been made when I first read it. Just as everyone else said, a superb return to poetry (a reigniting!) I love the reignition. My gas central heating boiler does that and the image has such resonance. And a lovely image too.

[leslee]

Thanks, Dave. Don't worry, you'll have lots of long nights ahead.

Maria: I was thinking about the switch flipping from one moment days getting shorter to the next days getting longer as well as the flipped furnace switch, but the rumbling that goes with it is clearly more resonant for people! Thank you - it was fun to write. A free day stuck home in the snow must be conducive to writing.

LadyP: Thanks! Glad it worked for you. :-)

[mb]

Oh, I enjoyed this very much. I could use a reminder of the slow preheat about now.

[kat]

What a charming image and poem, Leslee. I was out of commission during the holidays (Internet connection was so bad) and I missed reading all your posts and seeing your beautiful photos!

[leslee]

Thanks, MB and Kat. It is terribly slow, though, isn't it? The light does stay a wee bit longer though every day.