We are dazzled
by brightly coloured lights
the silver, gold and white,
hanging above the busy street.
Sparkles drip from trees and eaves –
even the traffic lights flash with Christmas cheer.
Above us, the sky is goose-feather grey,
our noses sting with icy air
and below our feet the path echoes
with winter’s forge. Beyond the gate,
a pastel surprise awaits
among sparse grass and curled up leaves:
slender stems stand tall,
tender buds brave the chill
with the promise of Christmas daffodils
Kim M. Russell, 13th December 2018
A new poem for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night
I’ve just got back from my daughter’s where I have been honing my grand-parenting skills and having a wonderful time with my grandson. The last thing I did with them was walk through the park to ‘Monkey Music’ and back. We enjoyed the songs and actions in a small, friendly group, but when we emerged from the warm hall in which the session was held, we were struck by how cold it has become. Imagine my surprise when we got to the other side of the park and saw a patch of budding daffodils!
As we start our seasonal break at the dVerse Poets Pub this week, I’d like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new Year!
What a pretty poem!
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Thank you!
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Oh… I love daffodils, but I still think it’s too early… they should be resting now.
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I’ve never seen them so early. It must be because it has been quite mild until now. I had to lg ht the fire this afternoon.
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Such a breathtaking poem, Kim! ❤ Wishing you and your family Merry Christmas (in advance) and a joyous new year 2019! 😊🍷❄
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Thank you so much, Sanaa. have a lovely break, a joyous Christmas and a great 2019! 🙂 xxx
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Joyous indeed–the common denominator poetically out here on the trail seems to be love and good cheer. With each poem, my smile widens and my heart flutters. I like your line /below our feet the path echoes with winter’s forge/. Happy holidays to you and yours!
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Thank you, Glenn, A Merry Christmas to you and your family.
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Beautiful! Evocative! The ending is superb “tender buds brave the chill
with the promise of Christmas daffodils”
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Thank you so much! Merry Christmas! 🙂
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Nicely captured Kim – we have the same going on back here in the UK – a very mild winter so far…
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That’s where I am Scott – only I wasn’t up here in chilly Norfolk when I snapped those daffs but down in Guildford with my daughter. I think it might be just like last year – no snow until the end of February/beginning of March.
Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
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So absolutely beautiful. Christmas daffodils. How charming.
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Thank you, Misky. That was down in Guildford not up here in Norfolk, where it is so much colder. I just hope those daffs bloom. Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 🙂 xx
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And you, Kim!! 🤶🏻
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Wonderful write, and the promise of daffodils… 🙂
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Thank you, Rob! 🙂 Merry Christmas!
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Always there’s a glint of gold somewhere in your poems. May the Beast from the East stay least in the West!
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Thank you so much Brendan. Slainte mhaith, merry Christmas and a happy new year! 🙂
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Nice sound in those last two lines.
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Thank you, Frank. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 🙂
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I have been checking on my grandson too every weekend. Love the promise of daffodils though we are in the midst of a very cold winter blast.
Wishing you and yours Merry Christmas and joy filled new year!!! Thank you for being part of our team.
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Isn’t being a grandparent wonderful? I was so surprised to see those daffodils but also quietly content – let’s hope the buds withstand the cold and burst into bright flowers.
Thank you for having me on the team, Grace,. All the best Christmas wishes to you and your family, and a fantastic new year. 🙂 xxx
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I loved your sky of goose feather grey! No daffodils here as yet but under my flowering quince I spied a small bunch of violets blooming protected from the snow. It is these magnificent small surprises that give us hope. I am glad you enjoyed your baby sitting. Merry Christmas hugs to you and yours and a very happy new year!
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Thank you so much,. Toni. I’m imagining the colour of violets against the snow – beautiful! Have a wonderful Christmas, Toni, and I’m sending you, your husband and various pets hugs and Christmas wishes. 😉
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Sigh. Kim, you are blessed to daffodils, so early in the season. In southern Ontario, its least another 3-4 months, before they greets us. Until then, its long hours of cold temperatures and cursing of snow storms. In my part of Toronto, a thin blanket of white snow covers the grow, as the sun fights to be seen.
Kim, wish you and your extended family, a safe and happy holidays.
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Thank you, Therisa, and the best Christmas wishes to you and yours too.
Last year we didn’t get any snow until the end of February/beginning of March, just before my grandson was born, and I get the feeling it could happen again. The seasons are slipping.
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What a lovely discovery – not unlike the unexpected joy of spending time with grandchildren.
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Thank you, V.J. I had such a wonderful time with Lucas and really didn’t want to leave him, but I’m going back for a whole week in February. 🙂 Have a great Christmas and I’ll see you on the poetry trail in the New Year.
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You too, Kim.
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what a wondrous surprise!
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Thank you, Jade, and it was! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you!
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The pretty things, they just don’t want to miss out on the Christmas fun! 🌼 🎄
I also love the goose-grey and winter’s forge. So many senses are tickled here! 😊
The title adds a depth of reflection to the joy, brave little daffodil promises!
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Thank you so much, Lona. Have a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to reading more of your poems in the new year. 🙂
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I hope they’re in a nice sheltered spot! Have a wonderful end of year and start of the next, Kim 🙂
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the sky is goose-feather grey,
our noses sting with icy air
Lovely! And daffodils at Christmas – seems magical to me.
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Thank you, Margaret. Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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What a treat to see daffodils already Kim! So glad you had a lovely time with your grandson and we wish you a wonderful festive season and a very happy New Year 🤗💖 xxx
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Thank you, Xenia! Best wishes to you all for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 🎅🔔💝
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Thank you Kim 🙂💖🎄 xxx
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It is a lovely spot of color in such a gray season, but the blush in the wrong spot sometimes can be a precursor of more ominous things, like the second half of the old saying, “Red at night, sailors’ delight. Red in the morning, sailors take warning.”
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I think you’re right about the precursor – snow is on the way!
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I love daffodils. Sadly, I don’t see them here, other than in fresh bunches of flowers for sale. How wonderful for you Kim!
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Thank you, Linda. I haven’t seen any in North Norfolk and we have sleet and high winds up here. My daughter lives in the south – I hope it’s not quite so cold there.
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Beauty
Of Winters
When Souls
Continue to Ripe Art..:)
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And winter retains some of the colours off spring. 😊
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With Summer
Inside Warming
Hot Chocolate..:)
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Mmm hot chocolate! 🙂
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Yes!..:)
Happy Holidays Kim..:)
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Thank you! Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy a New Year to you!
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Sounds like a fun time spent with your grandson:) Mother nature always find a way to entice…in the midst of winter, daffodils. Nice.
Pat R
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Thank you, Pat. I had a lovely time and am looking forward to going back to visit again. They’ll be here for a few days over Christmas, too!
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That’ll make it a really fun holiday😊. My sister is coming with hers..6 & 7 yrs old. I’m excited😊.
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Lovely poem, Kim–and what a surprise to see daffodils! It sounds like you had a lovely time.
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Thank you, Merril.
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This is beautiful and cozy in each unexpected corner–the goose feather sky, the almost here daffodils.
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Thank you, Wyndolynne.
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I have always thought it cool that streetlights are red and green for Christmas. I worry about the daffodils this early. I like your description of the world at Christmas.
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Thank you, Colleen.
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We had such a long sunny fall, things got confused and started budding again. They will be chilly now! Have a wonderful holiday season.
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Th a no you, Sherry. Best Christmas wishes to you and yours.
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Lovely poem, Merry Christmas.
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Thank you, Vicky! Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
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Nature always puts up the best decorations, doesn’t she?
I really love the structure, how you started with the glint of seasonal bedazzling and ended with the bright of Nature’s blooms.
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Thank you so much, Magaly!
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joyful reading! thanks!
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Thank you for reading and commenting!
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Lovely poem – gets me even more in the holiday spirit with all of the details you included!
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Thank you, Mary!
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I love the contrast and clear imagery of “goose-feather grey.” I felt right there, in the snow and colors and the surprise of the daffodils. I love their spring brightness, but here it would be way too early!
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Thank you, Susan!
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Christmas daffodils must be a lovely thing in a winter landscape.
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I’m sorry I won’t get to see them open.
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A lovely piece with a charming back story. This was a treat to read!
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Thank you so much, Wendy!
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Nothing seems to follow the rules of the seasons anymore!! Season’s greetings to you too, Kim.
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Thank you, Rajani!
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