In winter she howls,
crouching down in the dirt,
trying to burrow away from the storm.
The forest howls too,
in echo, in its own tongue,
silencing everyday rustlings and shrieks.
She is cold to the bone,
lost and alone in the night,
bereft of rhythm and rhyme – in chaos.
No lullaby soothes,
no warm arms embrace.
No-one is coming, ever, to save her.
The tell-tale light
of the white, remote moon
shows her only despair; never changes.
I used them all – but the poem stemmed from that one word, 'winter'. I hate the cold! As a child, I have fainted from cold; as an adult I have cried with cold, become disoriented in cold – so the above scenario is not altogether far-fetched.
Image © Rosemary Nissen-Wade 2022
I am not a fan of winter either, my line is that I have left two snow shovels in the north; Nebraska and New Hampshire are holding them for me who will never come back except perhaps to visit relatives or ski. You did good with those thirteen, I also wrote using them all. I focused on the word bone but wandered a bit, perhaps too much, from that bone.
ReplyDeleteO yes, here in southeast Texas this week we are cool, high 60'sF or low 70's for the high, 30's, 40's, and 50's in the evenings. NO SNOW, that come every ten or so years, we had some three years ago.
..
Snow is very pretty – in pictures, lol!
DeleteTell-tale light of the white, remote moon... that conjures up all kinds of things!!! And the sketch happened- so cool!!
ReplyDelete'Happened' is the right word – and I decide it's time to be brave enough to put these things out there (inspired by this friend of mine who's been posting her 'doodles' on Instagram – but in my case the words came first). Glad you think it's cool!
DeleteGood use of the words. Wordles are fun. Excellent poem !
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHowl is a word I am thinking about and wondering if she is an animal tugging at my heart.
ReplyDeleteAs I was writing, I felt that it was a bit ambiguous: she might be some animal. And that ambiguity is in the sketch too.
DeleteI feel the numbing cold in your poem, I too have problems when temps dip. Raynaud's Is an irritating malady I would rather not have. The sketch you added is marvelous! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I Googled that – and yes, it must be irritating to say the least. As a child in Tasmania (until the age of 15) I felt the cold so badly during the winters that my symptoms were not unlike, although I don't actually have the disease. So I sympathise very much!
DeletePS SO glad you like the sketch!
DeleteI can feel the angst and pain echoing in your words. Simply lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteOh, she seems so sad and hopeless
ReplyDeleteYes, that was the feeling.
DeleteOof, you do a great job at transporting the reader into that desolate environment. The mood is just perfectly chilling.
ReplyDeleteGlad I succeeded!
DeleteWinter and I don't get along either. Cold weather wasn't made for me. So, I totally understand your subjects desperation and bleakness. I, too, hide from the frostiness of winter as much as I can... usually under my blankets... waiting for spring...
ReplyDeleteLove the powerful imagery. And the awesome sketch, too.
It must be hard living in New York, then! The winters there have quite a reputation! I see it's a similar latitude (north) to Tasmania's (south).
DeleteThanks for the kind words about the sketch!
Wow!! enjoyed this
ReplyDeleteHappy you dropped by my blog
Much love...
Happy you dropped by mine too, and enjoyed.
DeleteGreat to use all the words in the prompt. Not easy, i guess. The imagery in the poem reminds me of how wild animals try to survive the winter.
ReplyDeleteI have not yet experience snow (the artificial ice at the skating rink don't count, i think) but during my trip to Japan in the autumn, i find the cold quite unbearable.
Ah, the sketch. Please draw more. :)
Oh that's good; I meant the imagery to be ambiguous as to whether I was talking about a person or animal.
DeleteMany thanks for your encouragement about the sketch!
Winter is tough. I can imagine the kind of chaos especially in a writer's life if we don't have "rhythm or rhyme".
ReplyDeleteMay we be well-equipped all the time! :)
Great use of all the prompts!
I tried and could manage to use 3 :)
Thank you! I'll be over to have a look at yours in a minute.
DeleteHowling in and at winter is an appropriate response.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you agree!
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