ODE TO OLD MAN WINTER

There's a mean cold snap a-comin'
just as sure as my name's Jones.
I can feel it in my neck
and in my back and in my bones.

Oh, I'm ready for the ice, because
I cut down all my trees.
No more limbs and branches breaking
bringing power to its knees.

I've got snowshoes I can strap on
when I go to get the mail
and the papers. Plus, a mackinaw--
protection from the hail.

Bring it on, you old man winter;
test my mettle, if you dare.
I am up to doing battle--
me and my dear woman, Claire.

We've got stacks of cordwood drying;
all our preparations done . . .
Would you look outside this mornin' . . .

Don't that beat all? There's the sun!!

c lovepat press 2010

MORE POEMS FOR WINTER -- JANUARY 2010

Tanka
a light snow
doesn't deter the bluebirds
from berry breakfast
nor the kittens
from their play
~~
Haiku
blue glass dolphins
uncharacteristically
active ... the north wind
~~
Found Senryu
from house to truck
air so cold your eyes water
and it hurts to breathe

(from J.Tetrault, northwest ND
where the wind chill = minus
52 degrees --AP)
~~
Haiku
winter morning sky
the ever-changing pattern
of starlings a-wing
~~
Tanka
between showers
the robins drink from puddles
one finds the birdbath
not deterred by thunder
or the ensuing rain
~~
Haik-Sen
thunder
glass in the old windows
vibrating
~~
Haiku
mid-winter
after the thunderstorm
all the doors open
~~
c lovepat press 2010

POEMS FOR WINTER

winter sycamore
stands upstretched to catch nature's
coating of snow
~~
Winter
brought tornadoes,
murder, floods and snowfall,
leaving us desperate for early
springtime.
~~
Walking in the Park
Stuffed
people
walk briskly
to rid themselves
of winter's
sumptuous
stores.
(a Sept pattern)
~~
Snowfall,
so white and deep,
paralyzes traffic
yet evokes memories of childhood
pleasures.
~~
c lovepat press 2010