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| Taken before December's lunar eclipse |
Elsewhere I've seen it called the Opening Buds Moon―a name I like much better. Storm Moon, Wolf Moon, and Candles Moon also came up.
I love the moon, but not the snow. I love the fullness, I love the white, I love the hope residing there and spilling out. But no, oh no, I do not love the snow. And I am plotting my escape from future winters.
Nevertheless, I bring you a delightful full snow moon poem from the pen of children's author and poet Kelly Fineman, who blogs generously and thoughtfully over at Writing and Ruminating.
Snow Moon
Around the moon,
a ring of mist
foretells the ground
will soon be kissed
by snow.
In my neighborhood, the snow has been melting into ragged cities that jut upward from puddles in turrets and gables. I wished I'd had my camera in hand when I was at Cedar Beach last weekend. Gulls were parading past a line of scruffy snow castles and their moats, wearing the same shades of white and gray that the snow was. It would have been a good picture for today's post. Today, the snow peaks are much lower than they were then, and it's supposed to go up to 65 degrees. So, there!
Here's a bonus poem to pay homage to the melting, dirty snow.
Photo by littleyiye (Flickr Creative Commons) Crows
by Valerie Worth
When the highSnows lie wornTo rags alongThe muddy furrows,
And the frozenSky frays, droopingGray and soddenTo the ground,
The sleek crowsAppear, flyingLow across theThreadbare meadow
To jeer atWinter's ruinWith their jubilantThaw, thaw, thaw!
Mary Ann has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Great Kid Books. Stop by to fill up on poetry goodies!
"Snow Moon"
© Kelly R. Fineman 2011.
All rights reserved.
16 comments:
I've had enough snow, too, Toby. Thanks for these poetic antidotes!
Oh, Wow! I love that last line--Thaw, thaw, thaw! How unexpected and perfect.
Two gorgeous poems! I love snow and the moon, so I took Kelly's poem into my heart. Loved it. And really liked Valerie Worth's too. Love that threadbare meadow!
What a great ending that second poem has! I love the idea of the crows saying thaw thaw thaw. That makes me very happy. I am so over winter too. Spring sounds divine, literally.
I think Opening Buds Moon is much better.
Wonderful poems, Toby - thanks for sharing. I've been literally counting crows and caws today - it's the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count. :0) And it feels like spring.
Enjoyed both poems, Toby -- and like you, I DO NOT like the snow. "Thaw thaw thaw" is perfect!
I'm not sure when spring comes to the northern plains, but I hope you have some thawing soon, Jane!
Dori, I wish I had written those lines. That's how I usually feel about Valerie Worth's poems.
Laura, thank you! I searched for a photo of a threadbare meadow, but couldn't find one. We can certainly picture it, though.
Carlie, yes, let's do a chant to bring on the Opening Buds Moon. Soon.
Robyn, I read your blog about the backyard bird count. What a great project!
Jama, today's melting was pretty wonderful, wasn't it? I got home and the mountains of snow were way lower than they'd been this morning. :)
I'm with the crows jeering at this awful winter...thanks for sharing this one!
Oh Toby! It is so good to see some Toby-Skies again. Thank you for these gathering moons and birds and skies and words. (Yes, that rhyme again.) A.
Tara and Amy, it can't be spring soon enough for me this year! Amy, I've been photographing some more skies, but haven't used them yet. Soon!
I loved the crow's crying, "Thaw, thaw, thaw!" I am not close friends with snow, but Ice, on the other hand--well, let's just say we have a very chilly relationship!
I really enjoyed Kelly's poem (and I am so tired of the snow!). Do you remember the boxes of Cheerios with copies of "All the World" inside, and how you tried to buy a box of cereal with the book inside, but your store didn't carry those boxes? I have an extra one now (went grocery shopping for more Cheerios yesterday) and would like to mail you my extra copy. :) Please e-mail your address to me at bell.jeni at gmail.com and I'll send it to you. Happy weekend!
I enjoyed the poems. I, too, loved the 'thaw, thaw, thaw!' at the end of the poem. I love writing poetry, but I have a lot to learn
Clara, your ice joke cracked me up (hehe).
Jeni, that is so nice of you! I'll send you my email address.
Janet, many thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Better late than never, yes? What a lovely post you put together. I love Valerie Worth's work, but this is one I hadn't seen. Those crows with their "thaw, thaw, thaw" are marvelous.
Best,
Kelly
Hi Kelly, thanks for the kind words, and thanks, too, for being part of my full snow moon post. :)
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