Winter on Vine St., Natalya Critchley, 2017.
By
Renée Szostek
Claudio Mendoza
Timothy Adès
Snow-covered branches
become bright, lacy patterns
against the gray sky.
Icy ferns trace my window
as temperatures go down
January cold
skiing in the Alps, or else
April, village slush
I stroll amidst the snow. An
early robin chirps of spring.
My boots are too wet
yet many miles to the pub.
Fly me to your nest
London winters are mild now
not like Michigan, I guess
Depressed by dreary
drifts of snow, I long for warmth,
of winter weary.
Sunday roast, walk on the moor.
Cheer up, love, the Super Bowl
Icy snow: I fell.
Luckily a passer-by
helped re-erect me.
I’m staying safe inside, yet
snowy scenes invite. I’ll try.
Crushed shelves on the shore,
polar vortex they repeat.
Ice fishing till morn
Think of fir-trees in the snow
you might use a darker green
Snow gives branches a
frosty glow and blankets the
ground with quiet warmth.
Deciduous zombies haunt my
escapade to the woodland
A child of our time
the world turns on its dark side
It’s winter. Tippett
An early class: I form the
only footprints in the snow.
Four-point buck flashed past,
chipmunk rolls its finding home.
I’m not that alone
Just been in the countryside
by a beautiful river
Though an icy stream
flows musically, I long
for urban buildings.
Head home before the long night,
shovel snow and scrape your car
Look! no enemy
but winter and rough weather
that’s a Shakespeare song
A winter’s tale helps dispel
despondency, and delights.
To dearest William
aging was a long winter:
“Frosty but kindly”
Dick the shepherd’s by the wall
icicle hangs from a nail
I sculpted creatures
in the snow, which melted in
the relentless sun.
Will Frosty the snowman, say,
endure Olive the ice storm?
A joke: now is the
discount of our winter tents
Stratford camping shop
Discounted winter items
signal springtime’s near approach.
Loud wind chills my hope
It ripped the tent, froze my thoughts.
Blossoms I must rhyme
Magi adoring in snow
snow census snow innocents
Unknown to magi
was the snowfall. Impressed they
would be, nonetheless.
Bruegel’s singular snowflakes,
each a unique perfect gem
1560’s freeze
we need to change our habits
climate crisis now
Sunlight shines on silent snow
which sparkles, like jewels glow.
Nuclear winter of
endless nights by the fireplace.
Ukraine fights for us
Winter in Australia
nobody on Bondi Beach
Sibelius does
sympathize: Finnish winters
effect endurance.
Polar albedo feedback,
key in climate change nuisance
Oil coal planes concrete
cars meat fashion commuting
sun wind waves forests
Climate change gives warmth. I miss
harsh winds and isolation.
Northern lights echo
Sibelius’s Finlandia,
a song of freedom
Winter was the storm season
fear more storms fear worse winters
Winter needed a
friend, so I learned to love the
blowing snow and cold.
Olive left Mich. in a mess
half a million powerless
It’ll be a lot
worse than any winter if
we don’t fix it now
On crisp, cold nights, I see stars
without clouds interfering.
Turkey mourns wake of
freezing, horrific earthquake.
50,000 souls
Soracte stands white with snow
maitre d’, fetch the big jar
Short days: I hardly
see the sun, and trudge along
in darkness, hoping.
Michigan lakes and forests:
water, winter, wonderland
* Renga is a genre of collaborative linked-verse poetry that originated in Japan in the 14th century. It is based on a chain of five-verse stanzas referred to as tankas, each with 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7 or 7-7-5-7-5). Several poets take part in its composition, an ideal number being three such as in the present renga written over the internet (GoogleDocs) during three weeks in February 2023. Each of the three poets contributes alternately with a three-line stanza (haiku or joku, 5-7-5) and a two-line stanza (geku, 7-7). Each contribution should complete a tanka and open a new one; however, we have treated this aspect here somewhat loosely.
Published in Small Town Anthology IX, Sidney Bastos & Alisha Siebers, editors; Kindle Direct Publishing, Seattle, WA (2023).
Claudio Mendoza 