Snow has been falling for half an hour
and already the garden is covered
with white. Slumped by the log store,
only the tip of an old sack is visible
as I approach, feet firmly in my wellies,
one sock creeping down to my toes.
The logs are frozen to the touch,
landing in the basket with a thud; I’m so
intent on piling logs to load the stove,
I almost miss him: a cock robin hops
along the log-store roof and stops,
head cocked, eye shining, red breast
aflame, reminding me of my duty to fill
the bird feeders – with the sweetest trill.
Kim M. Russell, 14th November 2019
My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: Winter, also linked to dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night
Sumana says that, where she lives, winter is not cold, bleak and depressing but sunny and bright with a nip in the air; It’s a time for comfort and good food, celebrating the end of sweltering heat. In the UK, it can get bitterly cold and difficult for many people, especially those of us who live in the countryside, where there is little or no public transport. That’s when the best company is the wildlife that visits our garden. Sadly, the only photograph I have of a robin isn’t very clear, so I had to find one on the Internet.
For this week, Sumana asks us to write new winter poems, and gives us inspiration with quotes from Albert Camus and Lewis Carroll, as well as poems by Pablo Neruda, Wallace Stevens, Robert Hayden and Lisel Mueller.
writing in north norfolk 
So nice!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you kindly!
LikeLike
I know that feeling… the one where your sock is sliding down into your boot toward your toes. I like the splash of red of the little cock-robin. He and the fire-logs make me feel warmth despite being out in the cold.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Lori.
LikeLike
You paint a lovely image of winter . Me…I like beach culture in filthy heat.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Rall. I wilt in heat. 😊
LikeLike
The birds need us as much as we need them. If only we could remember that truth, and live by it, the earth would be a better place.
LikeLiked by 2 people
These images are evocative–so real! The sack, the sock, the thud, the “almost missed”–Nature speaks to us constantly. Snow only seems silent. I love the title.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Susan!
LikeLike
How absolutely lovely and unexpected, just like the bird. And yeah, why do socks always creep toward the toe of one’s boot?!?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Shay. Even my extra-long socks do the boot creep, especially in wellies!
LikeLike
This is exceptionally well penned. My favorite lines: “I almost miss him: a cock robin hops / along the log-store roof and stops, / head cocked, eye shining, red breast” The repetition of all those vowel sounds is glorious!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much – I can’t stop smiling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kim,
You have added one of my favourite images into your snowy setting; that cute little robin. My, how a robin just adds a hint of warmth and colour to the cold and blank scene…and yes, I must remember to prepare the bird feeders for my garden robin too:) Lovely poem Kim..
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Eileen, for your appreciation and kid comments.
LikeLike
My Hello Kitty boots let sleeping socks lie. What a wonderful picture of the robin. English robins are different from American ones but both are sassy little critters. A great snapshot of your garden.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Toni. I’ll look out for some Hello Kitty boots!
LikeLike
I think my daughter had Hello Kitty! boots. When she was in college, she had lots of Hello Kitty things. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely poem and bless you for feeding our little trilling friends!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Lill!
LikeLike
I really love the details with the socks in the wellies to build up to that wonderful surprise.
and such a perfect sonnet.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Bjorn. I’m so pleased you noticed it’s a sonnet!
LikeLike
This is absolutely stunning in its imagery, Kim! 😀 I especially love; “a cock robin hops along the log-store roof and stops, head cocked, eye shining, red breast aflame.” I can visualize it! ❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much, Sanaa! 🙂
LikeLike
What a marvelous little creature! Love the details here Kim.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Linda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A lovely meditation on not forgetting others, or the little things!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Xan. The little things are important.
LikeLike
Can very much relate to your poem, Kim. Around here it’s the chickadees that remind me. What a sweet poem for the season.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Jade. We have so many different birds in our garden. Some seem to live there, like the robin, owl, pheasants and magpies, some come and go.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like how the bird appeared as a reminder.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Winter has closed in on us! Love your pretty little bird!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Dwight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
very festive Kim….I can see that robin!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s in our garden most days, inquisitive and friendly, sometimes getting quite close. Sometimes there are two!
LikeLike
the vivid imagery took me to a winter which is still a mystery for a tropical girl like me. thank you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Kim!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You present a sense of being there, especially with “one sock creeping down to my toes.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Ken. Creeping sock is something I’ve never learnt to control – and it’s usually only one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a sweet poem Kim, I love how the robins always remind us! xxx
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Xenia! xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
A pleasant duty!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m off to buy fat ball and seed today!
LikeLike
Your robins in Britain are so different from ours in the U.S. They are plumper, their red in a different spot and cheerier, somehow.
LikeLiked by 2 people
They are also really friendly. I love the way they follow me around the garden.
LikeLike
Do you read Derrick’s blog? They have a robin who has adopted them that follows his wife around the garden as she plants and tends.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t come across Derrick. I’ll look out for his blog, Judy.
LikeLike
This is Derrick’s blog site: https://derrickjknight.com/
His robin mascot is named “Nubbin” and he usually has a photo of him hidden away somewhere where you have to find him..or sometimes out in the open, hopping along after whoever is minding the garden at the moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Judy.
LikeLike
Fine touch here, amid the dreary heaviness of the settling winter, one bright fine note warm and thriving within. We get through winter stringing those notes together. Woven delicately with slant rhyme and buttoned just so with the final couplet. Your craft sings here, Kim.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you kindly Brendan.
LikeLike
This is lovely, Kim. A beautiful picture of your garden/day.
I was going to mention Derrick’s blog, too. It’s not poetry, but beautiful photos. And “their” robin is named Nugget. He follow Derrick’s wife around in the garden.
Our robins are larger, and I guess not so territorial because we see a bunch of them together.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Merril. I had look at Derrick’s blog his morning and now I’m following him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person