Brumal Tribunal

That grand old poem called Winter. - Thoreau

succeeding an esoteric, february day's confetti of algid snow

a slice of ripened, cantaloupe moon smiled from ear to ear

against the backdrop of a bruised, black with cobalt and prussian blue, nocturnal sky

amidst stellar phosphorescence impishly aglow

shoveling a clear path through my troubles and woe

erasing the coventry of my fears

as the hibernal chill of a cryogenic season trod the jurisdiction of its blustery, preordained spheres

Author's Note

“I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself.” - Thoreau

“Winter is the time for study, you know, and the colder it is the more studious we are.” - Thoreau

Reviews

[emmajoygreen]

There is little in life to take one's breath away than the look and smell of Winter - whether night or day. It somehow becomes invisibly radiant, feelings appear from nowhere, we're near blinded by what is seen, or what may or not be real. Could be the unheated face of hell or the near mystic side of space embracing heaven. Who knows? Perhaps nobody because it is what it is

This is more than a magnificent incite into the meaning of everything..

Your use of words is as near an addition of letters not yet invented, Pete!

[Pete]

we had a day of peaceful, magical snow from about sunup to sundown. as evening was ushering the clouds started to part. i stepped outside on the hill where i live overlooking the town with the river below. as i looked up, i was immediately awestruck by the moon that met me against a magnificent sky. your thoughts are interesting because that's exactly how i felt - sort of small and big at the same time. the vastness of the sky with its chill felt both like the heavens had opened up and simultaneously so far away but i felt like i was part of it all and could just reach up and touch everything. i couldn't get out of my mind what my eyes and soul had just seen. 'twas just begging for a write and i labored to find just the right words to capture. thanks so much for "getting it" and understanding what i saw that night. i'll never forget it and as you say, it caused me to contemplate everything ... :)

[emmajoygreen]

I did understand, truly did. Differently.. many years ago, went on a short coach trip which travelled past a low part of the Alps. As dusk snuck in and forward, I tottered to the back of the coach to that long seat that goes side to side and knelt,, watching the lights and shadows on the terrain to my left and wept. sobbed, tried to catch my breath because the slowly lessening light made the years and years long terrain appear alive and moving, ducking and soaring.. even now.. pausing.. yes,.. i can close e yes and see ..

Whi needs ti go to the moon whn Earth has wondrs ti see.. Oops. cant touch type any more . Sorrry, Nor can i spell insight!

[Pete]

no better feeling than when someone "gets" our ramblings. no worries, poets don't write with fingers but with hearts and souls ... :)

[emmajoygreen]

How right you are tho' scribblers like me are still learning and are more than willing to do so until we can quote Thoreau at the drop of a pen..

[Pete]

i remember when i first started reading him - everything just clicked and made perfect sense to me, i couldn't believe how alike we were in our thoughts and feelings - had found my muse and couldn't let go ... :)

[emmajoygreen]

And (tut tut) you never should. There are some who would say he is your Linus blanket.. and there is nowt wrong in knowing you and another being shares something worth remembering.

[Pete]

don't we all need to feel that we are not alone in an often cold world though. am living in an area he probably frequented in the 1800's... :)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

There's a plethora of adjectives in this short poem. I like the winter months, being born in the time of frost, and the moon always seems clearer on cold nights. I enjoyed the myriad descriptions dictated from observation here.

[John Sullivan]

Absolutely love it, very stream-of-conscious... had to look up the definition of "coventry" in this context, but it totally works... nicely done!

[Pete]

yes, i thought it worked too in an odd sort of way. good to see you john. how's the music going? ... :)

[John Sullivan]

I actually posted a song this morning on my page, it's an old one but I'm proud of it. Unfortunately my friend Jacob has gone AWOL, haven't spoken to him in a week or two ):

[Poetic Beauty]

I do love the night and all its wonder. However I don’t love the cold or shoveling snow.

[Pete]

yes, there is a sort of mysticism about night. i try to ignore the cold and focus on other things such as what i saw that night. i don't like shoveling either (i've done so much of it all my life) but if i think about other things it's not so bad. attitude is everything in life. thanks so much for sharing ... :)

[Poetic Beauty]

My drive takes about an hour to hand shovel so all I think about is getting the task accomplished so I can get warm

[Pete]

i well remember those days ... :)

[Betty Hermelee]

whether a dream or not, the cold nocturnal seems to please your fancies....I like the descriptive cobalt sky and the radiance of the stars... this stunning eve could erase anyone's fears...troubles are swept away when you co-mingle with the cosmos....lovely images and cosmic words... makes me stand with you on a night like this....
Warmly, B

[Pete]

last evening i stepped outside briefly and was met with the scene. the orange slice of moon with the stars shining over the days fallen snow just blew me away. thanks as always for getting it b. ... :)

[Betty Hermelee]

A serene evening,,,, calming for the psyche……thank you Pete
Warmly, B

[Ken Simm.]

An amazing use of words. I especially like a coventry of fears. But maybe that is because Coventry is where I took my first degree.

[Pete]

coventry sounds like quite a place. thanks as always for sharing ken ... :)