Sentinels of Spring
Shovels poised in frozen arms they stand
Noiselessly and guard the homeward paths ––
Obese, rotund, avuncular. The land
White around them drifts like bubble baths,
Moving not, however, as those do.
Enisled in sparkling crystal’s frozen mass
No one of them a mate will e’er pursue.
Stoically poised above the grass
Panda-like with eyes of coal they wait
Impassively, and do not even flinch,
Recoil or shrink at barbarous crimes of hate.
Instead, they wait for warmth, then inch by inch
Tired, shrinking, soundless mix with mud
Soberly to join the Springtime Flood.
~ FreeThinke - The Sandpiper - Spring 1996
I haven't built a snowman in decades! In fact, even when it snows enough here, few build snowmen. I wonder why. Maybe the snowmen spirits are strong enough.
ReplyDeleteSpring 2013 seems to have arrived to Northern Virginia. Finally! Unfortunately, this spring has brought with it allergy miseries, from which I rarely suffer but am suffering from terribly this year.
Very fine.
ReplyDeleteThe drawing of the snowman perfectly suits the sort of weather we in the northeast are experiencing.
Ugh!
Really elegant, FT. You manage to capture images of beauty in a way that's gently satirical and mirthful, but also a little bit wistful. And everything you write always seems to have a hint or an allusion to Eternity. That you are able to do this working with acrostics so much of the time makes your work special. Too bad most ignore it, but that's their loss, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHelen Highwater
Very ingenious. Did you intend melting into "the springtime flood" to be a metaphor, or did you mean it literally? Only a dullard would not find your creations intriguing, FT. Don't let them stop you whatever you do.
ReplyDelete-------------> Katharine Heartburn