small kernels.

(artwork by me, to be used in my upcoming book)

globules of mist collect

silverly in unkempt eyelashes

blinking fast to retain clarity,

i am surrounded by the kind of damp

that seeps the cold past protective safeguards

of wool and cotton, weft and weave,

travelling deep into my very marrow...

as i shake within the chill

a warm hand is slipped into mine

fingers clutching and providing

a life-giving source of warmth

a bulwark against the insidious gelidity

and i am reminded:

it's the small kernels of warmth,

first forgotten,

that should always matter most

Reviews

[Jonathan Ballam]

To me this poem ended on the word 'reminded'. The last stanza seem to be too neat and wrap up the poem too much. However I still loved your imagery. It's deep, luscious, succulent, comforting, and emotionally moving.

Some people can be rich, yet very unoriginal and cliche in their meaning. You've got beyond that. So it's too thumbs up from my side ;)

p.s. - You should consider reading Anne Michael's writing, if you haven't already. I've read Fugitive Pieces twice over, and numerous poems of hers.

[Nobody.]

amen.
hell yeah.
damn right!
and it's beautiful.

[Periac]

bring home the flashcards of image after image my dear...oh the "kind of damp" simply wonderful....and though you dragged me into your life of a cool breeze I was pleasantly warm by the endings cunning revelation

[J.Black]

You're very powerful- especially when it comes to imagery. So rich and pure. To move my heart and change it's temperature calls for a: Well Done!

[Gandré]

Such a sweet innocence.. I liked this...made aware moments between the moments. The human race has to propensity for self-deceit, so you are again this, with your poem. Wonderful artwork, too.

[Isolophobe]

really liked this. a beautiful display of something beautiful that isn't seen as beautiful all the time.

[miSS LEaf]

Jenn, your talent is unique; you are gifted with the ability to move hearts.. up or down~

gr8 piece as always :)
~Lea~

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

This poem is quite beautiful literally and figuratively. It's amazing how one small thing can turn a hopeless situation around. The imagery you gave was superb. I actually caught a chill while I read it. I especially loved that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Figuratively, this poem says a lot about a special someone. With one touch, you know that everything will be ok. Sometimes we need to go through trials to remember those small things. Fair Weather friends can allow us to forget what is real.

[R J Askew]

Very sensuous. Can feel the chill, with a damp chill being worse than mere cold. And it has been that sort of day here. The physical chill perhaps also represent emotional weather. The misery serves to underscore the warmth of the hand though, which could be a physical hand, or could be hope. And the conclusion feels right. it is the little things that we often remember most strongly, sometimes years on.