Today I have some poems about snow. The first two are haiku based on photos sent me by friends last week (click on the picture to enlarge it). Then there's another snow poem, or at least a snow-adjacent poem, I wrote recently. I wanted to include the word Feather somewhere, since that's my OLW, so I went searching for a poem that compared snow to feathers, and the post ends with that.
Snow Moon, 2023
Here,
seven or eight hours in their future,
(depending on the time zone,
since my grown-up children
live in two separate ones),
I go outside
in the warm night
to look at the
Snow Moon.
I imagine myself
seeing the same
shining
full
orb
now
that they will see
once their part of the earth
circles round.
But
here
in the Ugandan dry season,
the Snow Moon hides
behind
thick, white clouds
that will
never,
no,
never,
bring snow.
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
I'm going to share one stanza of this poem; there are four. Follow the link to read the rest of it.
from The Snow Arrives After Long Silence
by Nancy Willard
...The cat at my window watches
amazed. So many feathers and no bird!
All day the snow sets its table
with clean linen, putting its house in order.
The hungry deer walk
21 comments:
I like all those poems, Ruth. I can imagine the Snow Moon in Uganda after reading yours.
I love how you are connecting with your kids...even from the future!
We haven't had much snow where I live this year. It has been very warm here this winter. Your photos and poems are lovely reminders of what I've been missing.
Since we just had a snowy day, the poems fit my life now, Ruth. I love that you gaze at that moon, knowing you see it just like your children do. I often think of that about family far away but also everyone, our special connection. Thanks for the lovely poems.
Your OLW is feather! I love that, Ruth!! xo
Ruth, your poems are strong with feelings and the photos are beautiful. It is interesting how your thoughts of snow are wrapped in a desert surrounding. May your time in Uganda bring you silence, peace, and connections.
What a warm and wonderful "Snow" post, Ruth. I smiled at your pondering about whether the dot was a bird in your first poem. And I can relate to living in a future (timezone) than my kids. I like the idea that the same moon (Snow or otherwise) looks down upon us, just at different point in time. :)
Thanks for the snowy blanket of words this week, Ruth, the lovely moments of reflection. :)
I imagine those snow photos and haiku offer quite a contrast to your local weather.
I'm in California, and I long for snow sometimes too. (I grew up here, but did have some years in between in snowy places.) I was so glad to visit snow with you--and what a fun surprise that your poetry also had an element of longing for snow.
Ruth, I love the poem you wrote about snow as feathers, seen by your cat. I can imagine a cat I know looking in wonder out the window. It is beautiful! I also love how the moon serves to tie people together that live in different parts of the world, like you and your children. Thank, you for sharing.
I love the idea of snow moon during the Ugandan dry season. Beautiful haiku..
Your haiku have a kind of invisible longing in them, but maybe I only think so because of your no, never snow poem! Nancy Willard's poem is a like a masterclass in metaphor, don't you think? Thank you for posting, and for giving us a reason to think about places very far from our own.
I love your meditations on snow and the Snow Moon from a place where it will never ever snow. And I love that Willard poem. Our gardens are so confused. The daffodils and hyacinths are pushing up, but the temps have gone back into the 20s.
Ruth, I love the image of you looking at the moon from a different time zone, knowing that you and your children still share the same moon. Willard's poem is lovely too. Clever way to sneak your feathers in there. :)
Ruth, I feel such a sense of connection and also loss in your Snow Moon poem. Maybe that's just me. Either way, it's beautiful!
Beautiful poems, Ruth. I hope you'll write a poem when your family all gather in the same time and place! I love the cat tantalized by the feathery snow.
This week we've been seeing, I think, Venus and Saturn in the early evening. Two bright, distant worlds.
Your "Snow Moon" is a lovely bittersweet poem, and I feel the longing of wanting to imagine
"seeing the same
shining
full
orb
now
that they will see"
Love the imagery in Nancy Willard's poem, like, "The sky it fell from, pale as oatmeal," thanks for all!
Ruth, "Snow Moon" is a perfect pairing with the one you found... evoking the line "scanning the sky for snow" ... Your "no/not ever/not here..." I think often about what sky my distant loved ones look to; find great comfort that we share the moon and stars.
Thank you!
Connecting through the moon...ahhh. Lovely. It's so interesting to think of the "snow moon" from your Ugandan perspective. It makes me wonder about how the moon is named in different cultures. Also, I adore that Nancy Willard poem and had forgotten all about it. Thanks so much for reminding me!
I love thinking of my children and how we look at the same moon, Ruth. I didn't realize you had moved to Kampala. Wow. You have had some amazing experiences, haven't you. I love the end of your poem when you repeat the clouds will "never, no never, bring snow" Your snowy haiku are sweet too. I wondered about that bird too.
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