Thursday, January 29, 2009

a poem in this time of Winter, said Princess Haiku


Ice storms and fierce cold have swept across the Northern States. There is no better night to appreciate a "snow" poem by Wallace Stevens.

The Snow Man

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

Fir the Listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

8 comments:

Isabella said...

Oh, what a beatiful and touching poem! Thank you for sharing!

Ruth said...

"The Snow Man" is among my favorite poems. "Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." How well he builds to that line, and what a line.

Thank you for your kind visit to synchronizing and my poem.

Kathryn Magendie said...

beautiful!

Marion said...

Love this poem. It's one of those that joins others on my fridge. Right now, it is really apropos!

Unknown said...

Oh this is gorgeous - just gorgeous!

get zapped said...

Silence can be a cold thing, but soothing once you warm up to it. Thanks for sharing this terrific poet!

edward said...

there is nothing like a 50 degree sunny day when snow is on the ground icicles melt so fast and birds flutter. a little break in the middle of winter.

LazyMom said...

I always think of "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" during the cold, still winters in the Northeast.