In my deepest January,
frequently the sky is pink,
trees hunched over, shy and nude,
creeping round churned up fields.
In my deepest January,
carrion crows, grey as fading ink,
pick at drowned worms, rude
and raucous as they wield
sharp, curved beaks then sink
them into mud, cackling a lewd
caw. Breaks in the treeline reveal
the village church, a chink
of grey stone to lighten the mood.
As the sun begins to sink,
in my deepest January,
the naked, twilight woods turn pink.
Kim M. Russell, 29th January 2025
Image by Yanga Li on Unsplash
This week at What’s Going On? Sherry would like us to contemplate and share poems based on the phrase: ‘In your deepest January…’ She says that we should repeat the phrase (it could also be ‘in my deepest January’) somewhere in our poems.
I’ve taken an old poem and reworked it.
writing in north norfolk 
Oh, Kim, between your words and the image, I was right there, hearing the crows, watching the woods turn pink. Just lovely.
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Thanks so much, Sherry!
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Dang, that was a pretty awesome poem. I was trying to stay focused on work all day but this caught me off guard and pulled me right in! It’s a banger lol.
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Cheers WIlly! You’ve made my day.
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The poem is like a beautiful painting. And the crow and its activities suits the landscape perfectly.
“As the sun begins to sink,
in my deepest January,
the naked, twilight woods turn pink.” Love this.
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Thank you so much, Sumana.
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The winter sunsets are sometimes really something to behold.
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They are, Joseph. We’ve had some fantastic ones here.
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Us too!
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What a beautiful and uplifting poem. This is January as it SHOULD be! I love thinking about January this way.
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Thank you, Mary. It’s what keeps me going.
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I love this, Kim, especially that ending. So vivid.
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Thank you, Shay!
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I like the way the poem used pink in the first stanza to the last stanza to tie everything together. Nice!
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Thanks Nolcha!
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As magical as pink cake frosting- and quintessentially English – in the best ways – Jae
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Thank you, Jae!
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terrific ! you didn’t take the easy way out and make it a regular rhyming scheme: you varied it and made it a much more interesting poem: loved it:)
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Thanks John!
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Cool! “trees hunched over, shy and nude,creeping round churned up fields” I was not prepared for them to turn pink. Bravo!
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Thank you, Susan!
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Your imagery is always amazing! You take us right there feeling and seeing from your perspective.
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Thank you so much, Truedessa.
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Kim, I love the vivid imagery of your “deepest January” — the crows’ harsh presence and the twilight woods turning pink feel beautifully contrasting.
Much love,
David
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Thank you, David. We have had some wonderfully pink sunsets recently.
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Ahhh…this is so lovely, Kim. I just want to drink it in like a fizzy, pink drink at the end of the day.
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Your comment has made my morning, Jennifer.
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Lovely, vivid imagery, Kim.
“As the sun begins to sink,
in my deepest January,
the naked, twilight woods turn pink.”
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Thank you, Bing.
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