Odysseuse on the Move

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

More from the Archives

The previous post was the first of a series of poems titled The Three Best Days. The following is the second of the best days.

I want to live in a land
Where it's often the first day
of a three-day snowstorm.

The weather report warns:
a raging blizzard in the prairies
west of here.
Trucks are overturned, cars are buried
under snowdrifts six feet high.
Emergency vehicles only.
Women in labor are whisked to hospitals
by snowmobiles, just in time.
The storm is headed our way.
We flock to the stores:
bottled water, candles,
kerosene for oil lamps,
batteries for flashlights,
milk, bread, and meat,
soup in cans,
apples and candy,
pet food and litter.
Is there anything at home to read?
To the library, to the bookstore.
Pull into the garage
as the first flakes fall.

The strange and lovely silence begins.
Clouds of snow blow past my windows.
Safe from all distractions
I lose myself in elusive ecstasy:
solitude that seldom comes.
I read and dream and sip my tea,
rejoice in the cold and pristine white,
held close in the warmth of my home.

Written years ago by Marguerite Louise

6 Comments:

  • Boy am I glad I'm not a pregnant woman or a trucker in Southwest Michigan!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/16/2005 11:34 PM  

  • Winter without
    And warmth within;
    The winds may shout
    And the storm begin;
    The snows may pack
    At the window-pane,
    And the skies grow black,
    And the sun remain
    Hidden away
    The livelong day—
    But here—in here is the warmth of
    May!

    Swoop your spitefulest
    Up the flue,
    Wild Winds—do!
    What in the world do I care for you?
    0 delightfulest
    Weather of all,
    Howl and squall,
    And shake the trees till the last leaves
    fall!

    The joy one feels,
    In an easy-chair,
    Cocking his heels
    In the dancing air
    That wreathes the rim of a roaring
    stove
    Whose heat loves better than hearts
    can love,
    Will not permit
    The coldest day
    To drive away
    The fire in his blood, and the bliss of it!

    Then blow, Winds, blow!
    And rave and shriek,
    And snarl and snow,
    Till your breath grows weak----
    While here in my room
    I'm as snugly shut
    As a glad little worm
    In the heart of a nut!

    "Winter Fancies" by James Whitcomb Riley

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/17/2005 11:36 AM  

  • Love your poetry. And this is perfect for today. We have two inches of snow and more falling. It's not a snowstorm, but it's a great day to be unemployed.

    How I DID NOT miss getting up in the dark and white-knuckleing to work while dodging sliding semis, and having to walk through a cold, windy, slippery parking lot - also in the dark.

    Winter is the best time to be unemployed, except for spring and summer and fall.

    By Blogger Marguerite, at 11/17/2005 12:55 PM  

  • Oh yeaaah! Ditto here, Marguerite!

    I just LOVE watching the snow come down, knowing I don't have to go to work in it or, since we live in a condo, shovel it. :)

    Nice poem, ML. As always.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/17/2005 2:43 PM  

  • Great poem! I think this year if we have a snowstorm, I have to WALK in to work.

    Everyone else (wisely) lives outside of walking distance and no one down here drives in the snow.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/18/2005 11:15 AM  

  • I do love your poetry....
    This last piece reminds me of why I don't miss Ontario winters. How funny though that we prepare in exactly the same way for storms which are entirely different in their nature. We get little snow here but do get heavy rains and high winds which can leave us with power outages that last 3 or more days.

    When I sit by the fire and drink my tea I'll think of you and your kindred spirt.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/19/2005 11:49 PM  

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