Friday, November 1, 2013

And Then November


I don’t see you come
but I feel your cold breath
on my back.

Your gaze stoops my shoulders
and I wither
inside,
curling in
around the dark
like the petals of a flower.

A dozen shades
of brown and grey
fill my eyes.
A killing frost is coming;
I must prepare the ground.


This is for G-man and his FF55.  I missed you all the last couple weeks! 
And this is also for d'Verse where Claudia wants us to write about color, and for  Writers' Digest PAD (writing prompts for November's poem a day challenge).  Today's challenge was "appear" and I tried to do it without using the word itself.

36 comments:

  1. curling in
    around the dark
    like the petals of a flower.

    the grace of oblivion, and also some of the terror in that line, Mary. Great 55, and there is definitely a sense of something impending, about to appear.

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    1. Thanks Joy. I love this time of year with all the endings and beginnings, and the 'grace of oblivion,' as you say.

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  2. This made me think of mourning...of feeling someone's presence without actually seeing them. It was perfect, Mary.

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  3. Our killing frost has already come and gone. Now we're waiting for the snow that doesn't melt.

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    1. Yes, that's next. Better prepare the ground! ;-)

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  4. that middle stanza was particularly vivid...the gaze withering...it def has the feel of life in autumn...but also can make for a great personification or metaphor as well...

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  5. It certainly is that time of year. You've captured November perfectly!

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  6. Really deft use of what's unsaid. I like this a lot.

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  7. Well! This was worth the wait, Mary .....

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  8. I love November...
    Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and it's like Winter without the deep freeze.
    You are the beautiful harbinger of blustery things to come
    Loved your 55
    Thanks for playing, it's GREAT to have you back, and have a Kick Ass Week-End

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    1. I love this time of year too Galen, even if it may not sound like it here. I hope you have a great weekend too!

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  9. A dozen shades of gray.... Yes, I see this all around too. In some ways it is relaxing, a preparation for winter. I enjoyed your 55, Mary.

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    1. Thank you Mary. I worried about the associations with 'shades of grey' so I added the brown. ;-)

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  10. I don't like the frost when I am outside, but from within the quilt looking at the white image of the outside doesn't seem bad... :-)
    Well pictured. :-)

    -HA

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    1. Yes, it's nice to be cozy and warm on a cold day.

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  11. Your poems always work on to levels. "Prepare the ground . . ?" For what?
    Lovely

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  12. I love this especially the last line. Beautiful poem Mary.

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  13. Thank you Doctor. As for what I am preparing the ground for, you'll just have to stay tuned!

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  14. Dark, but not scary...yet. It feels like loss, regret, and resignation.

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  15. Yes, you're right Ann. Thanks for reading.

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  16. preparing the ground...that is what hit me most... all the withering protecting and nurturing the soil for the things to come... moving...

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  17. Perfect November poem ~ I feel like curling in myself ~ Good one Mary ~

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  18. Thanks Grace...'tis the season. :o)

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  19. Everyone's fear slaps us in the face and I think we crouch with the flower - this is ingeniously written! Captures the frost coming perfectly! I love it.

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    1. Thank you Margaret. Sorry it took so long for me to find you comment!

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