GOODBYE, WINTER!!

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I said to my editor at coffee today, "I'm doing a poem titled "Goodbye, Winter." What are some things that we will say goodbye to when winter is over?" After pondering this for a minute, she answered: "COLDS?"  "BRILLIANT," I said.
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Goodbye, Winter---
Goodbye to---
Frosty mornings, icicles on the eaves,
Scraping icy windshields, dead batteries,
Slick sidewalks and streets,
Sliding into curbs;
Snow days at school, kids making
Snow angels in your driveway--
(Watch our for 'em!)

Goodbye, Winter---
Goodbye to---
Unfriendly cold winter skies...
The ones with the streaky clouds,
A thousand miles high;
Windy winter northers, hitting
About bedtime, winds fifty MPH---
(I kinda like those!)
Vanishing firewood stacks.

"So Long," Winter---
So long to---
Cold nights, cold feet, cold noses...
Roaring fireplaces, fur houseshoes,
Soft fleece robes, quilt throws for sitting,
Old "Jones" hunting caps (I wear mine...
In the den.)

"So Long," Winter---
So long to---
Homey colorful quilts (I'll miss mine!)
Hot mugs of tomato or cream of chicken soup!
Hot, bubbling stews. like green chili,
Vegetable, cabbage/beef, posole,
Or chili con carne.
(With Wylie's mother's spoonbread,
Of course.)

Goodbye, Winter---
Goodbye to---
Games: Scrabble, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit---
Puzzles there on the card table, in the corner...
Old John Wayne taped movies,
Fireside charades
"Miracle at Philadelphia", third reading.

Goodbye, Winter---
Goodbye to---
Skis and snowshoes, already
Hanging on cabin walls...
Kids riding sleds and inner tubes
Down snowy mountainsides!
Those who fish through holes in the ice,
On lakes---for trout.
Stocking lakes and ponds with
Rainbow trout---is almost done.

HELLO, SPRING!

The crocuses, tulips, and daffodils
Are beginning to peek out
In the flower beds!
The lawns are beginning to green.
Those wonderful fresh spring winds
Are replacing winter's cold icy ones.

The sun is getting higher in the sky,
With every passing day, and
The days are getting longer and
The nights are not freezing anymore,
Much, anyway!

People are talking about planting tomatoes---
Though it's too early for me. Real tomato growers
Know that tomatoes need the warm sun of summer.

Women are beginning to get out their spring duds
And store winter's. They can be seen daily...
At Chico's! Their UGGS are already sitting in storage.
They are getting pedicures and putting on
Their sandals!

Spring flowers are being planted in flower pots
And flower beds...those that can endure a hard freeze
If one comes. We see pansies, et al
All around. Roses are being pruned and fertilized
And will soon be blooming, as well as our
Honeysuckles---which usually appear late May.

Oh yes, we will rue the loss of wintertime---
We will rue the absence of these cool,
Almost cold, spring winds on those hot
July and August nights---when sleeping is...
Difficult!

But for now, the Voice of the Turtle
Will be heard in our land soon---
It's almost time---for the mulberry trees are
Just beginning to bloom, and just now showing
On those awful pollen charts!

Soon the parks will be busy with Little League baseball,
Soccer; kids will be skate boarding, riding
Their bicycles, and all manner of fun things!
There will be church picnics, with softball and
Croquet; dogs will be chasing frisbees...
There will be families out there too
With plenty of good summer food, like...

Fried chicken, fried okra, potato salad
Baked beans, deviled eggs, corn bread,
Cantaloupes, watermelons, homemade ice cream,
Hamburgers, hot dogs, cakes and pies!
Cold drinks on ice---galore, including iced tea!

All in all, I guess my favorite season is AUTUMN!
I almost wish it were "just around the corner!"
When it comes, after old hot August, I'll be ready!

In autumn, I like to climb up the stairs, into my attic!
A lot of my favorite books are up there,
As well as the GI surplus bed, covered and cushioned
With quilts. A colorful spot for reading, writing, or a nap!
It is quiet and still up there, with that double-insulated window,
Which lets  in---great light! What is there about attic light!!!

A couple of little logs in that attic woodstove
On a cold fall afternoon, is all you need. You could
Heat the whole house with that stove, I sometimes think!
If a norther is-a-comin'-up, that's even better,
And cozier!
Then you open the attic window about a half inch
And get that pricelss lonesome moan of the wind
Whipping around the corner of the house...
And that dratted old mulberry tree branch that bangs
The house in rhythm!

Coziness is what autumns and winters are all about!

Ah, but in dreading hot August, I'm getting ahead
Of myself!

So goodbye again to Winter, gone
For another year.
It'll be awhile before we see you again
But we'll be ready!

The Creator was wise in making the seasons.
Contrast and variety are the spices of life!

Just remember, we are barely out of March---
And as Yogi Berra would have said, if he'd
Thought of it:
"WINTER AIN'T OVER, 'TIL IT'S OVER!"

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BY MIL
APRIL 9, 2013





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