Waiting

Post No. 821

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Waiting

.

Wrapped in blankets,

Morning air as cold as ice,

The queue not too long today,

Getting to know the price

Of rising late…

.

Here and there a baby grizzles

But seldom cries – snug

As a bug in the layered rug,

Wrapt against its mother’s breast.

Many have another –

A sister or a brother – holding

Tight, safe and sound on the ground.

.

The line shuffles forward,

Breath condensing, compressing,

And warming the air;

Five minutes more,

Another five minutes

Until they open the door…

.

©Denise G Allen, 17 June 2015 10:10

Beating the Cold

Post No. 813

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Beating  the Cold

.

Cold in the early morning

And in the evening too

Then suddenly at midday

The wind blew the sun away

Impossible to sleep

Shivering and shaking

One simple thing to do

Become my own heater

In a home-made igloo

Climbed into bed

Bedclothes o’er my head

Sealed myself in tight

Then breathed with all my might

In two three four, out two three four

(my forever trick for sleepless nights)

In the blink of an eye

I was warm as toast

Put my head out in tortoise mode

And the lovely cool air rode over my face

As I felt myself falling… falling…

Only to wake in the early morning

As fresh as the new day dawning

.

©Denise G Allen, 05 June 2015 06:47

Feelings

Post No. 799

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Feelings

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Hot and cold

Shy or bold

Hidden from all

Until they pall

Part of our soul

But not the whole

Hard to explain

Hard to express

Contagious or no

Infectious or yes

Translate them

Transpose them

Words often fail

To express or explain

Our joy or our pain

.

©Denise G Allen, 09 May 2015 07:00

Testing the Weather

.

A sunny day, or so it seemed,

But a stray mischievous wind

Breathed a tendril of ice

Behind my neck, down my back,

Too weak to move the leaves

But enough to make me freeze

And pull my collar higher,

And my scarf tighter as I hied on by.

.

©Denise G Allen, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 11:17

Winter’s on its Way

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Winter creeps from west to east,

Soundless slippers on its feet,

Borne on the warm west wind

Where I feel traces of chill,

A foretaste of the dense cold air

About to descend blanket-like

Covering us, huddled together

Before the flickering fire.

Friday’s the day, so they say,

And preparations are underway…

.

©Denise G Allen, 03 June 2014 07:12

Feelings

.

As fragile as a petal,
As treasured as a jewel,
As brittle as a crystal,
Feelings…

Wrapped in layers,
Protected from others,
Secreted in covers,
Feelings…

Shielded from harm,
Hopeful and warm
In the cold before dawn,
Feelings…

.

©Denise G Allen, 26 May 2014 04:26

Cold Old Bones

Snow/Sleet in Jozi

Cold Old Bones

Winter crept, while we slept,

Into our homes and our cold old bones,

And joints with stiffly (f)rigid digits.

As we awoke the freezing air

Held us fast there in its grasp,

Held us tight with all its might,

We fight to breathe, we’d like to leave

For warmer climes, for heated homes

To ease the hurt of these cold old bones.

.

Image and poem: ©Denise G Allen, 19 May 2013 20:13

Photo taken with my cellphone a few years ago.

There is creative reading as well as creative writing.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Tree

The Tree

You stand there naked on the hill
Like an appointed sentinel,
Bereft of all your summer glory,
Your limbs outstretched against the sky,
and silently watch the world go by.

Do you shiver in the chill?
Do you utter the smallest sound
When the frost blankets the ground
And the snow begins to thaw –
Do your roots get cold and sore?

Do you long for the return of spring,
For sunny days and balmy nights,
When children climb your leafy boughs
And raucous rooks perch way up high
To view the landscape beneath the sky?

Image: Willdoo_photobucket.com & Aubreyknight_photobucket.com
©DGA 26.06.2011 07:14

Has Winter Gone?

Has Winter Gone?

The air is warmer than it was before.
Has winter gone?

The feeling is back in my fingers and toes.
Has winter gone?

My nose no longer drips from the cold.
Has winter gone?

The sun shines longer than it used.
Has winter gone?

The ice has vanished from the breeze.
Has winter gone?

I’m sorry to disappoint you all,
But winter still has more in store.
As much as we wish summer were here,
There is at least another good while
Of winter’s cold to bear this year.

Photo: Windows7.desktop backgrounds.landscapes

©DGA

Sucker Punched

Sucker Punched

I have no poetry left in me,
Only snot and phlegm.
I’ve been aware for quite some time
That my immune system is very strong.
It has been more than twenty years
Since I have had a cold or cough,
So when I awoke on Wednesday night
With a sore, raw throat
Which progressed to all the other
Ghastly symptoms of a virus,
You could say I was surprised
To say the least.

A couple of days in bed…
Of course my pup took full advantage of the situation:

Photo’s: Author

©DGA