Snow surprise transforms
and lifts an otherwise grey
February day,
delighting children
and the young
at heart with play.
But my hands are blue,
my fingers burn,
and my bones creak
at every turn.
The possibility
of snow this week
makes my insides churn.
Kim M. Russell, 2018

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille: Burning Inspiration
Victoria is our host today with the Quadrille word for Monday, which is burn.
Oh.. I can tell of this pain… my mother in law now freezes so much that we had to give here a pair of electrical gloves…
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Electrical gloves?! Where can I buy a pair?
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That sweet old lady in the word and oil painting–that’s me. Maybe I need to get some of those electrical gloves that Bjorn mentions. I like your description and use of burn.
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Yes, those electrical gloves sound just the ticket.
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Well maybe the delightful sounds of the children can keep you warm.
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They did this morning – until they went outside to play and came back with ice cold hands and snow to show me!
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I feel your pain, Kim! Hell, I’m living it….with the flu too 😢😢
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oooh, Vivian….feel better soon!
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Oh Viv. I hope you get well soon.
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Thank you 🙂
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I’m not looking forward to this cold snap the UK is about to get so I feel I might end up just like the poor woman in the painting. Wonderful poem though, a fair few seem to have gone for the burn that comes from the cold tonight.
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Thank you, Carol. I can see the snow from my window and it seems to be getting worse.
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I sympathise.
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🙂
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What a superb illustration you’ve chosen for your words….or your words chose! 🙂 I do think, as we get older, the cold seems to seep inside of us more. Our hands most especially. Nice juxtapositioning of the cold fingers actually burning…it really is a sensation felt when the fingers get overly cold.
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As I’m typing this the snow is getting heavier and the wind stronger – apparently it’s coming from Siberia! My hands are so dry,and cracked at the moment that I have splits in both thumbs. Luckily, I don’t have to go out tomorrow.
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Oh dear. Tis a chill wind blowing across our lands this evening. Icy here too but the sky is a billion angels eyes twinkling.
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Now that is so beautiful, Paul,!
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Yes, snow is great when you’re young. Though I do quite fancy the idea of being snowed in…
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When I lived in Ireland we were snowed in – right up to the roof – and a farmer had to come and dig us out, We had icicles hanging from the ceiling!
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That picture and your words are a perfect match. Stay warm!
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Thank you, Candy! I’m staying at home today.
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A warm snow that sticks can be beautiful and won’t be around long.
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I hear you Kim. Keep the snow, it’s way too cold for me anymore. Makes me glad I moved South. I think I can feel the cold running through that woman’s fingers, brrr
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🙂
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😉
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What’s worse than a tease of Spring and a Winter that’s outstayed its welcome? You capture the dismay all too well!
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Thank you, Frank!
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😇
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Hope its not too cold for you Kim. We are having a false spring and I hate the thought of going back to the chilling cold.
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I really can’t stand being out in snow. I had an awful experience the winter I was five and prefer to look at it from the safety of a closed window!
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Love the surprise twist this poem takes- and somehow I can relate to both the kids and the old woman.
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My mother-inlaw can relate. She sits in her recliner with a blanket over her. The cold bothers me more than it used to but not so badly that my hands burn and I get chilblains. The picture of the old woman is a perfect illustration to your words. She needs those handwarmers.
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The picture took a while to find. My hands look awful at the moment. Even though I’ve been applying cream they are red, dry and cracking. My thumbs have splits in them, which are very sore, and I now have more than two numb fingers. Roll on spring!
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Bless your heart. Have you tried something like Bag Balm. It is an American salve originally used for cracked dry ice udders. I’m sure England has something similar. I used to get cracked dry fingers in winter. My mother would put it on my hands at night and out clean socks on my hands, cotton anklets actually. After a couple of nights my hands were healed. Take care of yourself. Your grandson to be wants to be held and snuggled by you!
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Thank you, Toni. I have some great Hydromol ointment from the doctor and it has already given me some relief. Bag Balm sounds good too but I don’t know where to get it over here. The knitting is giving my hands a workout too!
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It goes by Udderly Good as well. You can get it everywhere here and of course at farm stores…gallon buckets of it! Hydromol is good stuff. Lol. We were poor and often too just used plain old Vaseline at night as well.
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Great use of the word burn! Cold and arthritis both burn the joints!
Dwight
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Thanks Dwight!
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Oh yes, my insides churn at the thought too.
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Tesla Dreams Fruition
AC Warms iN Science
20th Century thru
21st Century
Older no
longer
colder.. Burns
Hands Warmer
Poetry as Science
LiGHTS HeART iN
Comfort’s LoVinG HEaT..:)
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🙂
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Oh gosh I hope it isn’t too cold there for you Kim! Love the picture you chose to accompany your poem!💞
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Thank you, Sanaa!
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I think we can all relate. Sorry about the snow and your hands. We haven’t had much snow this year, but I’m still ready for spring!
Excellent illustration, too.
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Thank you, Merrill.
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“Snow surprise transforms” – yes, indeed! You captured that well throughout the poem!
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😁
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Again, Excellent story-telling.. 😎🥀😎🥀😎🥀
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Thank you, Dorna!
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Awwww. So sorry, Kim. I think much of the world is frustrated with the weather right now. Hang in there. This is so well spilled. I feel your chill.
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Thank you, De.
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I can so relate to this, especially, “But my hands are blue, / my fingers burn”. I am ready for any semblance of winter to be over.
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I could do with some spring sunshine!
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I can understand Kim. Last few weeks have been freezing cold here in Utrecht too.
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And here comes more snow…
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“my bones creak at every turn” … gosh, me, too. This cold weather is rough on the bones.
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I keep hoping the weather forecast is wrong but as I look out of the window, there are more snowflakes and the sky is grey.
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It’s plain old bone-shatteringly cold here today.
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Brrr!
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Lovely lovely poem. We have had snow here too, even though it is coastal and a rare event, a wee boy at school yesterday was almost in tears sitting on his hands after break-time as they were so frozen because he had been playing with the snow. The joys of youth, I sat nursing my mug of hot coffee. XXX
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I’m about to make a hot drink to warm up my fingers! The snow is quite bad here. My husband has driven to work but I don’t have to go anywhere today, just out to the garden to bring in some logs. I’m going to crack on with the blanket I’m knitting for my grandson – only a week to go!
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I am working from home as there is a strike at the university and I was never any good at being militant….so enjoying the snow and the fact that I don’t need to venture out. Enjoy making your blanket. XXXXXX
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🙂 xxx
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David just phoned me to say that he’s coming home. It took him over an hour to drive about 6 miles. He said that there are snow drifts and the roads haven’t been gritted so cars are slipping and sliding all over the place. I don’t know if I’ll make it down to my daughter’s on Saturday as there might not be any trains.
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Sending warming spring vibes for Saturday. XX
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Thank you, Alison – I need them! xxx
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I loved how you used burn, which is normally hot, to describe the cold!
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Thank you!
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