To Winter
"O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors:
The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark
Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs,
Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car."
He hears me not, but o'er the yawning deep
Rides heavy; his storms are unchain'd, sheathèd
In ribbèd steel; I dare not lift mine eyes,
For he hath rear'd his sceptre o'er the world.
Lo! now the direful monster, whose 1000 skin clings
To his strong bones, strides o'er the groaning rocks:
He withers all in silence, and in his hand
Unclothes the earth, and freezes up frail life.
He takes his seat upon the cliffs, —the mariner
Cries in vain. Poor little wretch, that deal'st
With storms! —till heaven smiles, and the monster
Is driv'n yelling to his caves beneath mount Hecla.
by William Blake (from Poetical Sketches, 1783)
They were predicting "wintry mix" for this afternoon. That usually means that we either get warm sunshine or an ice storm that paralyzes the city.
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A little snow in London today, but now it's rain. I hope you get the weather you want. Stay safe
ReplyDeletewe got about 3 snowflakes and about 15 minutes of sleet, and then the sun came out. today they've cancelled some schools and announced early closings for others, and they are predicting 1/4" ice during the day. nothing yet. ice is hard around here. people don't know how to act, and there are usually a lot of car accidents and power outages. we'll see. often, a prediction of ice is a guarantee we don't get any. that's what happened yesterday.
Delete"He withers all in silence...". Wonderful description.
ReplyDeleteDarla
i don't like poetry as a rule, but the language in this one struck me
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