Piblokto
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By Turlough
- 2024 reads
Nine months are quite enough
They can keep the other three
Frosty mornings brittle, cruel
Fog pilfers trees and gardens
That self-inflicted genocide
Crimes of nature's icy Roundup
They can keep their autumn hues
The only colour my eye sees
Is the black that’s cast upon us
From November, in the afternoons
Astronomical I suppose
Deep in my mind, dark hurts
Winds tear at face, hack flesh
Freeze blood, chill brain and bone
I suffocate in boots and coats
Frigid fingers grip and rip my throat
Or I choke on foetid brumal dank
Give me daylight or I’ll scream!
The year’s eventide’s upon us
Nothing left to do but sleep
So wake me in the morning
When sanity comes marching home
When winter's only weeks away
At the other end of the world
Image:
When I was possessed by an animal spirit in a shop selling handmade Bulgarian folklore gifts.
Photographed by the woman who ran the shop, but she used my camera to do it.
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Comments
sympathy from a fellow winter
sympathy from a fellow winter hater. It's always a moment of joy when the days start to get longer. How early does it get dark where you are?
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It if isn't getting dark til
It if isn't getting dark til 4.30 then you're definitely better off there Turlough. It starts to get dark at around ten to four here, though like you say, some days it never really gets light.
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Pibokto here as well
A good poem - conveying the feeling of depressive winter weather; the language evoking the Piblokto feeling. I well recall ariving back in the UK in January (after many years), and being stunned by the grey weather. A well-deserved cherry.
Dougie Moody
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This deserves a comment.
This deserves a comment.
So agree with everything you say in this poem. Just remember us poor Brits who have no idea what to expect post-Winter gloom x
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yes, I like to see the light,
yes, I like to see the light, feel the light, but winter work is writing and reading not all bad.
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Hi Turlough,
Hi Turlough,
as you know I'm a lover of the cold weather, though am having trouble walking very far these days. I also agree with celticman, that this is a great time to read and write, also slow down and enjoy the flicker of candles that are so magical. But that did not deter me from your poem.
Hope you have a peaceful Winter Solstice and enjoy planning your garden for next spring.
Take care.
Jenny.
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That's a wonderful mask! Even
That's a wonderful mask! Even though your poem rang lots of somber chords with me, your photo made me smile :0) It is dark, and wet, and windy here. Both my wellies and my trainers have sprung leaks THIS WEEK, different feet, so am rustling about with plastic bread bags inside them till Christmas :0) Thankyou for reminding me to be grateful it is not so cold as it must be, with you. I hope you have all sunny days up to the solstice, and beyond :0)
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I love winter in all its
I love winter in all its frost and gloom and looming darkness, but your excellent poem almost convinces me otherwise. It's our Pick of the Day. Do share if you can.
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This is our Poem of the Week!
This is our Poem of the Week! Congratulations!
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One of your best, maybe
One of your best, partly because it speaks to me and it's worse in the UK, 3.30pm and it's lights on time X
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I find only one redeeming
I find only one redeeming quality to winter, that it retreats and then disappears like a soulless ghost. Just the thought of Christmas makes me feel sick, then there's the deathly dull as dishwater week creaking on towards the equally damnable new year, when poverty and depression set in for the sake of those unwanted presents made by Chinese dissidents in prison. Skint families huddle together for three more hateful months while the good people trot off to the tropics on their public service dividends. Lovely poem though
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Don't let me stop you
Don't let me stop you planning next year's assault on winter. I'm already looking forward to it. The light's there but only at a flicker with this mob in charge. It will burn bright for Easter
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Happy to strike a light for
Happy to strike a light for you anytime I can
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"..Or I choke on foetid
"..Or I choke on foetid brumal dank
Give me daylight or I’ll scream!"
That's an evocative, powerful piece (the pic is quite terrifying).
Well deserved accolades, Turlough. Paul
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