It’s that time again:
after the crunch of autumn leaves
we face the bite of ice and snow
on the bank of the frozen river
at the edge of the year.
We look across at the future
and wonder
where we go from here.
Kim M. Russell, 2017
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille: Crunch Also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform.
De is our bartender for this Monday’s Quadrille and the word is ‘crunch’.
writing in north norfolk 
Marooned! If you’ve got a cuppa, it’ll make it all better😊
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I’m just about to make one, Viv!
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😊
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Love the feeling of being at the edge… as if the year is an abyss… but we will make it across… we will.
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I believe you!
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I love the idea of “facing the bite” of ice and snow. This sends chills, but somehow I also feel quite cozy. Like I just need a cableknit sweater and a cup of coffee to complete my day. 😉
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Thank you, De! 🙂 I’m wearing a funnel neck sweater and long thick socks in the study – there isn’t much heat in here. A warm drink – yes, I think I’ll nip into the kitchen and make one!
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Beautiful Kim. I love the fall themes now!
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Thank you!
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I do so love this poem at the edge of the year, the chill and the ice. I delight in the cold weather. the pic of the boats in ice also delights me. I know we will make it through the year and on into the next. A throwback into my throat of ginjo sake will warm me all the way down. I have a friend that lives in a houseboat on the Potomac river. It is a delightful place to live – spring or winter.
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Thank you, Toni. I like the sound of a houseboat on the Pontomac – it’s a magical name.
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and I realize I spelled it wrong…Potomac…is from the Algonquin meaning river of swans. It is a beautiful river running right through DC. I love to go and visit my friend and spend night looking at the moon reflecting on the river or the snow coming down.
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I like the idea of “the edge of the year,” and that is really what we experience right now, isn’t it? 14 F here this morning. The grass is definitely crunchy.
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😊
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Imagery of the frozen harbour a brilliant match for the cutting edge of the year – where do we go from here? Thought provoking Kim – I guess nowhere til we know where!
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I have my early resolution as something to aim for once I’ve jumped over to the new year.
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I like that line ‘at the edge of the year’, and the final question. Good one.
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Thanks Jane.
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🙂
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It feels as if there is a lot of change in the air and I especially love ‘at the edge of the year.
We look across at the future’ xxx
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😊🐕🎑
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I had forgotten what that biting cold felt like…when your fingers turn to lead and your nose and eyes stream.- the bite of the ice. XXX Captured well.
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Thanks Alison! I hope you’re not too cold.
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Always, Superb Poetry! 😎😎😎😎😎🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
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Thank you, Dorna!
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I liked the rhyme on “year” and “here” and the wonder where we will go.
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Thanks Frank!
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The metaphor is superb!
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Thank you, Jill!
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Brrrr! Well before I reached the photo, I was pulling my collar closed! Well written reminder of why I moved south.
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Funny thing that, Charley, they seem to get more snow south of us. Maybe it’s because we’re near the coast.
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It is. I’m fairly certain it is. (former weather forecaster)
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I too wonder, where the days are heading to, before we face the bite of ice and snow ~ Its crunch time Kim ~
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Certainly is!
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I like how you bring the natural crunches to meet the crunches of human affairs.
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Thank you, Janice.
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Your poem has run shivers down my spine! The thought of frozen river can evoke only such feelings…where do we go from here!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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The river at the edge of the year…what a great image. I never feel 1 January is the stert of the year. September is still one of my starting points, snowdrops are another.
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Funny you should say that, Sarah. I never celebrate New year – it just doesn’t seem right. I agree about the snowdrops.
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I love the open-ended question, as if we can write our own “next step”.
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Thanks Misky. Yes, what comes next is down to us.
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“at the edge of the year.” What a great line! But I’d just as soon skip the ice and snow and more right on to the leading edge of next year without it.
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Me too, Linda!
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A beautiful picture of the boats. We’ve honestly not had much snow where I live. It’s a relief as far as driving goes, but I fear that it will lead to a dry summer and lots of wildfires.
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Thank you, Cara. Thankfully, I’ve never experienced a wildfire and hope you don’t have to next year.
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Endings, beginnings and time. Quite the combination isn’t it. Can’t have one without the others. A nice one.
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Thanks Pat!
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kaykuala
We look across at the future
and wonder
where we go from here.
In reality it is true! 2018 seems to be waiting to impose its influence on the world situation which may turn the economics and commerce into tatters!
Hank
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I love the image of “facing the bite” of ice and snow 😀 your poem is lovely and makes me yearn for winter even more.. sigh..💞 Beautifully rendered.
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Thanks Sanaa xx
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Edge of the year… oh yeah! always mixed feelings right about this time.. well said!
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We go from winter to spring when mother nature tends to pitch a caniption fit or two and on into the hell known as summer.
Only to start the cycle all over again with the return of autumn! 🙂
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Autumn is my favourite season. 😊
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