In this unending winter the days are perceptibly lengthening, and a few new warblers chirp from trees on my walk around snowbanks and into the bite of windchill. But this last round of wintry weather leaves me concerned about these forerunners of spring.
Shrouded Bird
A songbird
in frosted February
sings spring too soon.
A memo misread
or tossed off? A coat
of hope his sole protection.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Down Time
This past week saw the one year anniversary of the Parkland, FL. shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A painful day, along with countless others, many of us wish to let go.
Down Time
What do we do
with days we wish to forget?
An anniversary
of a marriage now scrapped,
a date in April
capped by a fatal flood,
Mother's Day
without a reason for flowers,
the final workday
of a plant shuttered for cost,
a sibling's birthday
with no further candles to count,
a sunny September morning
exploding a nation's sense of security.
Like duty bound, humorless aunts
they reappear each circle of the year
and never do they not come back.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Down Time
What do we do
with days we wish to forget?
An anniversary
of a marriage now scrapped,
a date in April
capped by a fatal flood,
Mother's Day
without a reason for flowers,
the final workday
of a plant shuttered for cost,
a sibling's birthday
with no further candles to count,
a sunny September morning
exploding a nation's sense of security.
Like duty bound, humorless aunts
they reappear each circle of the year
and never do they not come back.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Winter Break
It's definitely still winter in the north country. The windchill no longer reaches -50F but it continues to register below zero on days even with only a mild breeze. And snow remains in the forecast.
Winter Break
A skyline with vapor plumes,
columned and Grecian white,
attracts no tourists toting Nikons
to film the absence of drift.
Rather, those of us bundled
against February's pillars
weigh the morning stillness,
mark the blessed lack of windchill.
Not quite the same as ambling
in strappy shoes
surveying cerulean seas,
but, for today, close enough.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Winter Break
A skyline with vapor plumes,
columned and Grecian white,
attracts no tourists toting Nikons
to film the absence of drift.
Rather, those of us bundled
against February's pillars
weigh the morning stillness,
mark the blessed lack of windchill.
Not quite the same as ambling
in strappy shoes
surveying cerulean seas,
but, for today, close enough.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Slip-Sliding Away
This has been a crazy winter. A windchill of -50F this past week to a predicted high nearing 40 today. A noticeable lack of snow all season but plenty of icy walkways and parking lots. And despite the relative balminess of the last two days, we'll plunge back into the cold of a Minnesota winter by tomorrow night.
Slip-Sliding Away
Sidewalks and grass glazed like glass,
deceptive enough to pull me down. Twice.
Chagrined, I glanced around, ready
to reassure any witnesses, but no one else
signed up for this fool's outing.
Once, I would have shown off
my bruises. Not so now. I wished
to avoid any talk about broken bones
and walking the halls of shopping malls,
instead. Boring as a treadmill.
Like a kid I hid the blueberry swirls
under my jeans until a pedicurist spied them
without even a shake of her head.
Only kind words bubbled-up, soothing
as the warm water around my feet.
Sympathy in a nail salon. What took me
so long? The discolorations had already
passed their peak.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
Slip-Sliding Away
Sidewalks and grass glazed like glass,
deceptive enough to pull me down. Twice.
Chagrined, I glanced around, ready
to reassure any witnesses, but no one else
signed up for this fool's outing.
Once, I would have shown off
my bruises. Not so now. I wished
to avoid any talk about broken bones
and walking the halls of shopping malls,
instead. Boring as a treadmill.
Like a kid I hid the blueberry swirls
under my jeans until a pedicurist spied them
without even a shake of her head.
Only kind words bubbled-up, soothing
as the warm water around my feet.
Sympathy in a nail salon. What took me
so long? The discolorations had already
passed their peak.
Marilyn Aschoff Mellor
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