The Winter Room

The light sweeps the room with its bluish breath;
the dying of another day slips quietly
into the barren soil and the world sleeps
beneath the heavy lids of night

where bare branches scrape window panes
begging for a warmth they once knew,
and the air snaps in the wind of invisible flags
holding vigil above the dead earth.

The moon is frozen in the darkest of voids
while I armor myself in flannel and burrow
under turrets of down determined to
keep the hollowness from swallowing me.

I will not be dragged into a tundra of despair
even though its reach is long and deep.
My heart flutters like a dying moth
caught in the mesmerizing path of a flame.

I hum a haunting lullaby softly to ward off
the bleakness that seeps into my soul waiting
for dawn to untie the double-knotted doubts
that tie me tight to the winter room.

Reviews

[Rebecca Buller]

Wow, this was fantastic! I think this is the first time that I've read your work. Winter is indeed coming & this piece makes me want to burrow deep beneath ground & not emerge until the first rose of spring waves her crimson petals in a friendly hello. Very well done:)

[icelandicblue]

I am with you on that one! Thanks so much for reading. I will be sure to drop by and read some of your work. Thank you.

[Rebecca Buller]

You're very welcome:-)

[Sharon L.H. Kelly]

Excellent use of metaphors and imagery. A perfect read for the upcoming season here in NY.

[icelandicblue]

I'm in Massachusetts and winter is coming... thanks so much Sharon.

[Abdul Aziz]

Warm, haunting and evocative, your poetry gives off the appeal of poets of yore, despite being free verse. I think the non rhyming quatrains were executed really, really well, and give a vibe of authority to the poem. There were many moments of breath taking beauty throughout the poem, but the whole of the first stanza is something really special to me. Awesome work!

[icelandicblue]

How very nice of you to leave such a lovely comment. It is nice to meet you and I look forward to reading your work.

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

I love the way this fits so well with the title and echoes feelings of winter blues.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks, the season is almost upon us here.

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

Here, too! I hate winter!

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I love the use of the words: turrets, tundra, and double-knotted. Each one has its own voice and just seems to sing out from the poem. The reader can easily sink down into the warmth of this one despite the vibrato of its winter song.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you for such a warm review.

[Mark]

so sweet and dark at the same time. wonderful imagery.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you Mark, sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

[Lydia Shutter]

Dismal and dark emotions throughout this poem....till the end when the hope shines brightly. The imagery is absolutely stunning. The personification here is great "waiting for dawn to untie the double knotted doubts that tie me tight to the winter room." Very well written. lydi**

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Lydi I appreciate your comment.

[Baby Ricochet]

Wow, this is depressing, but still hopeful in the end. Good one Blue

[icelandicblue]

I just entered it into a depressing poetry contest so maybe I have hope. ; )

[Jack...]

Wow, this is so very well done Anne. Superb would be a good word to use. Something about this just grabs me and shakes me saying, "Look!" Chilling but beautiful. I loved this one my friend.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much Jack, I appreciate that.

[TL Boehm]

oh this is stellar. There is something delicious about this that pulls me in. I wanted it to be a novel and not just a poem.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Tammy, maybe the poem is too big for its britches! I do know what you mean though it feels as if it is connected to something else.

[TL Boehm]

I got the feeling there was a larger story behind it.