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March 2, 2017

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Photography, Poetry

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Snowdrop’s Spell

Snowdrops blooming on February 25, 2017

Softest bell,
highest tone,
listen well,
Winter Crone,

snowdrop’s spell
makes you dwindle,
sounds the knell:
spring’s a’kindle,

feel ye well
youth is nigh,
dance a spell,
perhaps fly.

Copyright 2017 Brenda Davis Harsham

Notes: Jama asked if we will someday call the season Old Woman Winter. I wondered then why winter is usually male: Old Man Winter, Jack Frost, Snow Miser. And the Winter Crone was born. A commenter pointed out the similarity between this poem and Herrick’s To the Virgins. There is something to that.

Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss today! He made rhyming cool for school! I photographed these flowers on February 25, 2017. First 2017 flowers spotted in my neck of the woods.

Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks to Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe who is hosting and celebrating Billy Collins’ birthday this week. In my seasonal theme, for her:

Winter by Billy Collins

A little heat in the iron radiator,
the dog breathing at the foot of the bed,

and the windows shut tight,
encrusted with hexagons of frost.

Read the rest here.

100 thoughts on “Snowdrop’s Spell”

  1. Pingback: Guest Poetry from Brenda Davis Harsham, S. Francis, Chhaya, Ameena K.G., and Martian Poet | Solid Writ3r

    • You are so right, now that I reread that. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
      Old Time is still a-flying;
      And this same flower that smiles today
      Tomorrow will be dying.”
      Herrick was king, and I am a pale reflection. I edited my post to add that. Great point. Thanks!

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  17. I love your snowdrop poem! I saw some snowdrops at my local nature reserve, and they were so beautiful. Your poem captures the feeling of seeing them after a long winter perfectly.

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  21. “Spring’s a’kindle” is so clever. We heard the peppers here on February 28th, the earliest ever, but today it’s back to temps in the 20s! Billy Collins’s Winter poem is, as always, pitch perfect. I love the “geese/complaining in the vast sky.” Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Gasp! What beautiful babies…..my first impression when I clicked the link to this page. Snowdrops are so precious. But, winter crone does make sense. Maybe Snowdrops are the crone as a young woman….Winter has powers of visiting youth? Sping’s a’kindle is bewitching.
    And, those geese complaining over the living and the dead….schools and prisons. Billy Collins nails the language, doesn’t he?

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    • I always like my poems until I read Billy’s and then I feel a bit deflated. 🙂 But I like him anyway. And yes, he does find the deepest emotion some of us may not even realize we are feeling. Thanks for your kind words on my little ditty.

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  32. Brenda, this is a magical little nugget of a poem that reminds me of a medieval folk festival reading. If you pair these, I’d love to place it in my winter gallery. The flower is so delicate and amazing as a winter tribute to spring.

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  33. Love that “spring’s a’kindle”!
    Also loved Billy’s description of winter… I remember the old creaking radiators and the frosted windowpanes in the morning… so cold in those upstairs bedrooms in winter!

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  34. Hi, Brenda–Wow, look at all the folks who were ready to go on Thursday!
    I do like the way your poem lilts away the Crone with its incantation, and your photo is so alive! Thanks for bringing Billy in on it too–it’s an interesting specimen. Brrr.

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  36. You know I love your snowdrop poem: “snowdrop’s spell
    makes you dwindle,” & that you found a winterly female! The Billy Collins celebration is going to be great! Thanks for the poem you shared from him, too.

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  39. Lovely post Brenda. I love the thought of winter as a crone and the rhythm of your poem. I also love Billy Collins’ reference to the geese flying over
    “schools and prisons” That idea that they can be seen in such disparate locations (though I guess some see school as a prison, lol) made me stop and ponder.

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