It was the last of it -
Trailed alongside rough stone walls
Or under trees where shadows stick -
Slumped snowmen or heaps by driveways
This hidden world turned green again.
But in the solitude of altitude
Still whiteness still upon the moors
Wadding treacherous hollows.
Up there, I found a ewe once -
Suffocated by a drift and stiff
Above Eyam -
The lamb inside her frozen
And nothing left to do.
Oh where shall we go
Now May’s already calling?
This life is but a passing show
Where once white snow was falling.
And all that remains is lost.
Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?
ReplyDeleteWe mined our snow dens in snowdrifts.
DeleteDisappointed you chose not to acknowledge the Catch-22/Villon reference.
DeleteVery evocative.
ReplyDeleteThank you Debra... and for bothering to read it.
DeleteSnow? The sooner it's lost the better!
ReplyDeleteNot just snow.
DeleteQuite a moving poem with the frozen ewe and her lamb. Love the picture though.
ReplyDeleteIt is not entirely straightforward and that is deliberate.
DeleteMy next post is on the same subject. I like your snow poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading it.
DeleteSnow. Isn't it back next week?
ReplyDeleteMaybe in Todmorden but I couldn't think of anything to rhyme with that.
DeleteI've pondered a whole cup of coffee on this and, in particular, the last line. I'm still not sure that i understand. But that's poetry for you.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you pondering Graham. In a manner of speaking, it's not really meant to be about disappearing snow at all.
DeleteWe are still waiting for a real melt off here.
ReplyDeleteIt is going to get very, very frosty on Monday in D.C. but there will be an enormous, record-breaking crowd.
DeleteI like this poem and particularly the line - 'But in the solitude of altitude.'
ReplyDeleteIs the village of Eyam still extant? I remember teaching my class the story of the villagers of Eyam. I hope it stuck in their minds as much as it did in mine. (One of them had visited Eyam.)
Eyam is about seven miles from us. Please this historical post Janice:-
Deletehttps://beefgravy.blogspot.com/2016/04/mompesson.html
I tried to read it, but it's not there.
DeleteIt still works fine for me. Did you accidentally highlight "Delete" as well? With that it would not work.
DeleteWhat a lovely, sad poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading it with an open mind.
DeleteWe got a bit more snow last night and so I will be out shoveling again today. Nice poem but Spring is not calling here yet, Neil!
ReplyDeleteEach day there is more light Ellen. Happy shovelling!
Delete