Pieces of Winter

Heather's picture
An Essay By Heather // 12/16/2008

Winter is come. It’s the time for cold fingers, chapped lips, red ears and numbed toes. It’s the time for wind so nippy that now matter how many layers you put on, you feel as though you’ll never be warm again. It’s time for the cold that makes your teeth ache, the north wind that seeps into the cracks of your house. It’s the time for a cold room in the morning that makes you want to ignore your mom’s orders and snuggle back under the blanket that feels like a favorite sweatshirt.
Winter is come. It’s the time for hot chocolate and oatmeal in the mornings. It’s the time to curl up with a blanket and a thick, old book beside the fireplace. It’s the time for watching snowflakes whirl down, glad you’re snuggly inside. It’s the time for iced-over roads, canceled get-togethers, and days with your siblings inside. It’s the time for your favorite down-filled winter coat and snuggly scarf.
Winter is come. It’s the time for bundling up and running outside with your brother and sister. It’s the time for snow-angels, for snowmen. It’s hockey season. It’s ice-skating time. It’s the time for driving to a farm with your friends for a day of fun. It’s the time for the adrenaline that comes from lying with your nose three inches from the snow-covered ground, flying beneath you as you race your friends down the hill. It’s the time for building a snowman with a close friend and sending it down the hill on a sled. It’s the time to hitch a sled to the farmer’s truck and let him pull you in crazy figure-eights all over the place, squealing as you almost fall off. It’s the time of catching your sled on a rut and rolling down the hill, laughing so hard you can’t stand up even when the sled has stopped.
It’s time for cold days and fun times. Winter is come.

The trees are bare, their branches cold
As fall fades into winter’s fold
The sky is gray, no blue is seen
Save in snow and icicle gleam
A sheet of glass over the pond
Ferns hide their leafy frond
The birds have left for warmer clime
The tall grass frozen in pantomime
The soft white silence
Fades into the distance
The gentle humps and shapes of snow
Winter’s wind is here to blow

Comments

Winter is like my favorite

Winter is like my favorite season of the year. :)
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"I've got a jar of dirt!" -Jack Sparrow

Clare Marie | Wed, 12/17/2008

Both Eloquent and Accurate

We usually don't get below twenty-five degrees up here in the Portland, OR area, and when we get snow, it usually comes in January and lasts for only a couple of days. But this winter, it's been different -- since Saturday night, the temperature has not gotten above twenty-seven. We've got lots of snow and ice! All that to say, I loved reading the essay and poem; they describe my situation very well. Especially the part about "cancelled get-togethers and days with siblings inside."

James | Wed, 12/17/2008

Yeah it's been really cold

Yeah it's been really cold lately, and getting colder according to the meteorologist.

I really like this Heather, especially the poem at the end =)

Tamerah | Wed, 12/17/2008

James lives pretty close to me!

I live in Western WA and it's been snowing a lot. I just looked at our outdoor thermometer and saw that it is above freezing for the first time in... a while. Heather, that was beautiful, it's just a pity that I don't have a down filled winter coat.
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If you are offended by the truth-- that's how you know you don't have it! -Brad Stein

Keri T. | Wed, 12/17/2008

Oh, I can see it all in my

Oh, I can see it all in my head, the warm fire, the snow...I love winter! You did a really good job of painting what I love best about winter, and probably what your mom dislikes the most. :)

Cool poem at the end, too. You can rhyme way better than I can. I would rhyme, if you gave me a dime...ha ha.
JT

Anonymous | Wed, 12/17/2008

i love the poem at the end

i love the poem at the end the best, but it was all great.
I thought we weren't getting snow here till Christmas but I was wrong! It is freezing today... As Clare can testify to. :D
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"The world will likely end tomorrow - unless postponed for rain." -Tamerah (on her blog)

Anna | Wed, 12/17/2008

;)

;)
Yeah, you guys are lucky; here in Ohio, we've only got a puny little dusting of snow right now.
I'd just like to say that my feet are now officially warm, Anna. :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I've got a jar of dirt!" -Jack Sparrow

Clare Marie | Wed, 12/17/2008

Thanks everyone, winter is a

Thanks everyone, winter is a great season. We have a little bit of snow and ice, I'm hoping we get more before Christmas. LOL, I know a "white Christmas" is pretty cliche but I still want one!!
I have a rhyme for you, JT: "You're a poet and don't know it..." and I know you can finish it out. :0)
Merry Christmas to all!!
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The leprechauns made me do it!!

Heather | Wed, 12/17/2008

Finish the Poem

I can try to finish that. Let see...

You're a poet and didn't know it
You had a garden but couldn't grow it
You took a fish and decided to gut it
So you could cook it and eat it
You need it to feed you hunger
Because you exercise to stay younger
Since you exercise you can run further
So you can be a better sheep herder
Deep, oh deep, the water does rise
I bet you can’t swim to the other side
Because over there you can find lots of fish
Which is where we started, isn’t it?

There...now I feel better. So I can rhyme, it just doesn't make any sense. lol...I've been studying too long.
JT

Anonymous | Wed, 12/17/2008

DING! Wrong answer! The

DING! Wrong answer!
The correct answer would be: "You're a poet/And don't know it/Your feet show it/They're Longfellows." :0D
Your poetry reminds me of Lewis Carroll...and if you don't know who Lewis Carroll is, its the guy who wrote "Alice In Wonderland" and coined the word "jabberwocky".
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The leprechauns made me do it!!

Heather | Wed, 12/17/2008

well..

we don't get snow over here. Not even nippy air.
It poured rain for 20 minutes yesterday, and almost every window in our house leaked.
And it hailed.
I still can't believe it actually HAILED here.

Anyways... it's 63 F here and we're shivering.

I do miss nippy air and snow falling, but not snow. And not bare trees and long winters.

Kyleigh | Thu, 12/18/2008

Heather

That is very much like winter here for me. Nice piece. :)

Brianna | Thu, 12/18/2008

We have tons of snow here-2

We have tons of snow here-2 1/2 feet! And I love it, too. :D Snowboarding! Whoot!
BTW, nice essay/poem.
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"You're pirates! Hang the code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anyway"
-Elizabeth Swan//Pirates of the Caribbean//Curse of the Black Pearl

Sarah | Fri, 12/19/2008

Good Grief...

It's been a week, and it's still snowing! The temperature here in the Portland area has been dropping steadily all day. Right now its 2:00pm and the temperature is 18.5. This morning it was 29! The sky is just pouring out snow... Having snowy weather last this long is unusual for where I live, let alone before January! Heather, your piece is ringing truer for me each day!
...(Whatever happened to Global Warming?)...

James | Sat, 12/20/2008

It hasn't been quite that

It hasn't been quite that bad in Estacada, but since last night we've gotten around six inches of snow, which is unheard of here. Winter has definitely come alright!

Tamerah | Sun, 12/21/2008

Great job! I love it. That

Great job! I love it. That poem was really good, as well as the rest.

"Every recording studio needs a rubber chicken." -Joe Jonas

"My red hair gives me superpowers!"-some person's t-shirt

Erin | Mon, 12/22/2008

That was really pretty. I

That was really pretty. I love the poem at the end. :) I'm in Texas. It's around 40 outside, but it's supposed to work its way up to 80 by Christmas, and that isn't as unlikely as it sounds. gr. I miss snow... except snow-shoveling.
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... such as will ne'er again occur..."
~~~^@
Katie
*Merry Christmas!*
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen rules!

KatieSara | Mon, 12/22/2008

Almost three feet

Almost three feet now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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"You're pirates! Hang the code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anyway"
-Elizabeth Swan//Pirates of the Caribbean//Curse of the Black Pearl

Sarah | Mon, 12/22/2008