Disasters, Delights and Other Detours - 37. Woodsmoke Season

i had to come back to read again ... mmm yep.. beautiful real poetry..  love it

Exquisite.  

This poem made me feel like I was up north in the snow. Loved it.

29 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

If i am honest ... this is one of the best you've ever written. It has soul and feeling. To me this is what poetry is. Beautiful. Bravo.

 Thank you, tim. I’m very happy you thought it was good. You made me smile. 

Here stretch weeks dressed in funeral clothes, 

when forest and sky engage in grey conversation.

2 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

i had to come back to read again ... mmm yep.. beautiful real poetry..  love it

Now you just made me really smile. xo P

2 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

You've nailed the melancholy of winter perfectly.  I especially liked "soot-sorrowed gutters".  To me, this screams January, when the festive part of winter is done, and the cold seeps in more profoundly and achingly.  Well done, as always.   

Funny how the scent of woodsmoke evoked so many images. It is indeed an aching, penetrating cold we feel even as daylight slowly increases. 

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

Exquisite.  

Thank you, Gary. I’m glad you liked this. 

2 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

This poem made me feel like I was up north in the snow. Loved it.

Thank you for reading this. I am glad you felt what I tried to write. 

1 hour ago, Defiance19 said:

Here stretch weeks dressed in funeral clothes, 

when forest and sky engage in grey conversation.

 

So much ‘yes’ in those lines.. 

I agree with all the above comments..

Beautiful, Parker.  

Thank you so much for reading this, and for your comments. I’m very happy these lines made Yes sound in your mind. 

Poetry should evoke emotion when read, and this does just that, repeatedly. There's nostalgia and melancholy in each line that is deeply felt. Wonderful. 

This is beautiful, Parker. I miss the smell of a fireplace on a cold and cloudy day. You brought many happy memories back to me.

21 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

Poetry should evoke emotion when read, and this does just that, repeatedly. There's nostalgia and melancholy in each line that is deeply felt. Wonderful. 

I’m glad this one hit the mark. If images and emotions surfaced in this, then I’m happy. Thank you for reading this, and for your kind comments. 

11 minutes ago, WolfM said:

This is beautiful, Parker. I miss the smell of a fireplace on a cold and cloudy day. You brought many happy memories back to me.

Just a whiff of woodsmoke on the air brings so many memories and images to mind. I’m glad this brought happy memories to you. Thank you so much for reading, and for your thoughts. 

As I write this I can look out the widow at heavy gray scudding clouds and barren trees. The snow here in SC is falling in the form of large liquid drops rather than crystalline flakes and yet the scent of woodsmoke drifting on the morning breeze evokes memories of cold snowy days up north ... you captured the melancholy essence of those times. I can almost feel the cold in my bones.

Lovely.

5 minutes ago, dughlas said:

As I write this I can look out the widow at heavy gray scudding clouds and barren trees. The snow here in SC is falling in the form of large liquid drops rather than crystalline flakes and yet the scent of woodsmoke drifting on the morning breeze evokes memories of cold snowy days up north ... you captured the melancholy essence of those times. I can almost feel the cold in my bones.

Lovely.

How easily a single scent can transform a moment into a kaleidoscope of images and memories. And how easy it is to grumble at the grey sky without really seeing it. Thank you for sniffing the air and seeing some of what I hoped you might see. 

I suppose what I find so beautiful about this poem is how it effortlessly ties in the varied senses. Smell of woodsmoke, sight of dancing snowflakes, sound of wind and river; you seem to have involved the reader on the experiential level. In that way, you make the familiar serve to remind everyone to slow and let these sensations come to them in melancholy and joy. They are something to celebrate and treasure when the days are sweltering and oppressive. 

Bravo! 

6 hours ago, AC Benus said:

I suppose what I find so beautiful about this poem is how it effortlessly ties in the varied senses. Smell of woodsmoke, sight of dancing snowflakes, sound of wind and river; you seem to have involved the reader on the experiential level. In that way, you make the familiar serve to remind everyone to slow and let these sensations come to them in melancholy and joy. They are something to celebrate and treasure when the days are sweltering and oppressive. 

 

Bravo! 

I’m immensely grateful for your comments and insights on this poem. For once, a series of disparate observations came together as a more unified theme. It helps me to share my experience of this time of year far better than I could with photos or even video.