Cold nights like these are good for reading, and what better way to ease into a reading session than a few poems?
I believe that one reason Robert Frost is a favorite poet is because his poems are rural and folksy. Even if you don't have a fireplace, you get the feeling of being cozied up by crackling flames as you read his words. Well, at least I do.
For this poem, I had to look up 'conie' because the only conies I know are hot dogs with chili (and God, how I love them!). It's always good to learn new things, and tonight I learned that 'conie' is another word for rabbit. Or, a rabbit like animal. How sweet!
A Winter Eden by Robert
Frost
A winter garden in an alder swamp,
Where conies now come out to sun and romp,
As near a paradise as it can be
And not melt snow or start a dormant tree.
It lifts existence on a plane of snow
One level higher than the earth below,
One level nearer heaven overhead,
And last year's berries shining scarlet red.
It lifts a gaunt luxuriating beast
Where he can stretch and hold his highest feat
On some wild apple tree's young tender bark,
What well may prove the year's high girdle mark.
So near to paradise all pairing ends:
Here loveless birds now flock as winter friends,
Content with bud-inspecting. They presume
To say which buds are leaf and which are bloom.
A feather-hammer gives a double knock.
This Eden day is done at two o'clock.
An hour of winter day might seem too short
To make it worth life's while to wake and sport.
Where conies now come out to sun and romp,
As near a paradise as it can be
And not melt snow or start a dormant tree.
It lifts existence on a plane of snow
One level higher than the earth below,
One level nearer heaven overhead,
And last year's berries shining scarlet red.
It lifts a gaunt luxuriating beast
Where he can stretch and hold his highest feat
On some wild apple tree's young tender bark,
What well may prove the year's high girdle mark.
So near to paradise all pairing ends:
Here loveless birds now flock as winter friends,
Content with bud-inspecting. They presume
To say which buds are leaf and which are bloom.
A feather-hammer gives a double knock.
This Eden day is done at two o'clock.
An hour of winter day might seem too short
To make it worth life's while to wake and sport.
This picture is clip art from The Print Shop 3.0 Professional, which I added my own touches to using Picasa software from Google. I like to use Print Shop software for making flyers, signs, labels, and other small print projects. I like Picasa for quick and easy photo processing.
The poem is, of course, by Robert Frost. I am not sure what year Frost penned these lines, but does it matter? I think that they are timeless.
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