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Monday 28 January 2013

The Thaw : Tanka and Haiku

beneath the downpipe
yesterday's solid ice block
tiny fragments now
fracturing the early light
sparkle there like diamonds

the children's snowman
runnelled by its melt water
becomes a snow sphinx

in the snow's slow thaw
tracks suggest a beast on stilts
half-crossed the front lawn
stopped at the magnolia --
before melting like the snow

spots on cars and doors
the children have played snowballs -
infectious frolic!

9 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ha. fun...the snow man becoming the snow sphinx...smiles...and the spots from the snow ball fight...we had a few of those at the end of the last week when we had snow...

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave, A wonderful depiction of the sag after a snowfall. Very specifically but sparely drawn.

One thought - In U.S., we don't tend to use "spots" in quite the same way with infection, more "rash," but this works so simply, and is so clever. But it's possible some U.S. people won't get that joke-- though they will appreciate the description. (And I may be wrong - I'm not really up on current American usage, this just my sense.)

Lovely picture in words. k.

Mary said...

Nice wintry poem, Dave. I especially like thinking of the melting snowman as a 'snow sphinx.' Perfect description for that phenomena.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

An ode to winter...I loved it!

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

A great infectious frolic indeed, this poem is an impressionist painting.

Ygraine said...

Here lies winter 2013, captured forever in a portrait of words!

Should be immortalised in a time capsule, this, Dave.
Would be great to think someone would read it in, say, a hundred years from now; and could re-live this moment.

So, so, beautiful :)

A Cuban In London said...

You captured that moment of snow and ice melting perfectly. The snowman my daughter and her friend made in our garden resisted until the weekend. It's nothing but a puddle now. Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

haricot said...

I enjoyed a lot about the pictures which appear and disappear on the snow. Thank you, Dave!

Dave King said...

Brian
Yeah. Very weird, the snow man looked. It reminded me how I'd read once that the sphinx shows signs of wear from water on its surface - not always been desert there, then.

manicddaily
I remember now. I did know that it's rash in the U.S. Should have remembered, but thanks for the reminder. I think maybe I'll change it.

Mary
Thanks Mary. Your comments are always appreciated.

Optimistic Existentialist
Thanks for saying so. Good to hear from you.

Tommaso
Thanks. Thought you might have said a surrealist painting!

Ygraine
What a wonderful comment. Thank you SO much!

A Cuban in London
Tough guys these smowmen - wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of one! (Almost inspired myself to write a horror story, there!) Thanks.

haricot
Much thanks. Good to know what you think.