We are in the grip of a stelliferous season,
that famous episode of frost and florid falls
of leaves in the annual Penny Dreadful,
when we fend off the temptation
to watch hours of plasma television.
Outside, branches wave, trees tugged
by boisterous fingers, a friendly invitation
to join the fun, kick leaves, run riot,
before the quiet, sedate seduction
of snow and ice, that slightly moribund
reference to the latent
gap between Christmas
and the imminent
new year.
Kim M. Russell, 2016
Photograph by David Russell
My response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Wordle #131 “November 28th, 2016” and shared on Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform
writing in north norfolk 
There’s a joy in this rough ride to year’s end, a bounce I need and quite enjoyed.
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Thank you, Brendan. Winter is a hiatus between the old and the new and I love that raucous pageant of autumn colour and the unexpectedness of weather.
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I so enjoy your style of writing. i would never have guessed the poem was source from a word pool. You have perfectly captured the mood here.
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Beautiful! I love the images of “Outside, branches wave, trees tugged by boisterous fingers, a friendly invitation to join the fun, kick leaves, run riot, before the quiet, sedate seduction of snow and ice” 💝
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I feel as if I’ve just entered this space with you – though there is no frost where I live, only the falling of rain and leaves – a humid, wet Autumn that feels more like a prolonged end to Summer. I do miss the snow & frost, though I realize it’s more romantic to think of it then to actually be in it. Love your nod to the Penny Dreadful, the downtrodden, dreary & cold in that image – like the pages of a Dicken’s novel. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for reading, Stacie!
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I think you weaved the words perfectly into something meaningful.. to me this part of year is definitely moribund…
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Thank you, Björn. After the build-up to Christmas, that’s when I deflate and wait for spring.
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Such a splendid standstill. 🌹
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🙂
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I love the autumn moods in this poem….the race to run through leaves before the snow falls…….
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It is a race at the moment – it is so frosty and cold, and the water in the the water butt is now ice!
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Great use of some challenging words! I love autumn, myself.
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Thank you, Rosemary! Although I love spring with its tulips and blossom, I really do love the autumn colours and smells, the weather and hats, gloves, scarves, thick tights, sweaters… I think you know what I mean 🙂
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Yes, yes, here we are. Publicly I complain about the lack of light but to be honest, I crave the darkness of this season.
Side note, I saw at Barnes & Noble that they have a lovely bound copy of a collection of penny dreadful tales as part of their new classics series. How much fun is that? Right next to horror tales and Lovecraft, and other classics that you’d expect. I had to resist buying a whole bunch of volumes. 🙂
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Oh yes, a collection of penny dreadful stories is right up my street! Thanks for reading and commenting, Marian!
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a season that is far too short and tv should be reserved for those cold winter dreary days!
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True 🙂
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