.
Earth freezes
when the comet
spreads his tail
like a dove.
She covers tiny trees
against the frost
and watches
till the fan of indigo
folds and disappears.
Once in a lifetime
or a thousand years
it matters not,
she’ll know him
by his steel blue
when he comes again.
.
.
(c) 1996, 2017 Betty Hayes Albright
.
(a re-post, revised)
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Wonderful personification in this verse.
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Thank you, Charlie. 🙂
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It is sure freezing in San Antonio Today, well almost. Down to 37 F.
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Hi Homer! That sounds pretty cold for SA. (It’s 36 here, so we’re close.) Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
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Is Halley an apparition? Will the Sun answer our prayer for a warm heart?
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Hi Peter! Let’s hope so, to your second question. About Halley – when I was a kid in school it was spelled “Haley” and everyone pronounced it with a long “a”. Then somewhere along the line there were suddenly two l’s and the pronunciation changed. Does anyone else remember this or is it a case of the “Mandela Effect”? There’s a question for you. 🙂
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I think you are right arts HAley’s comet. Long a named after its discoverer. I fudged the spelling. Waited my whole life ( or so it seemed then) and it was a complete bust. Never saw it. Saw Kahoutek though. That was cool. There are many comet theories. I think Veilikovsky (sic?) got it right in Worlds in Collision!
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Sorry you didn’t get to see Halley’s (or Haley’s) but glad you saw Kahoutek. I’ve never seen one – the sky is overcast here a lot. 😉
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I love this image. I’ve noticed colours feature a lot in your poems. Does their symbolism have anything to do with it? As for the next comet, let’s hope he doesn’t drop by.
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Thank you very much! And yes, the colors always mean something in the poems, either literally or symbolically. In this case, the steel blue and indigo refer to the color of the comet’s eyes. Can’t explain here beyond that. 🙂
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Beautiful Betty.. The frost certainly is beautiful and so are the words of your poem.. 🙂 Sending well wishes for a Wonderful Happy New Year
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Thanks very much, Sue – I appreciate your comment! Wishing you a great New Year as well. 🙂
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You are most welcome.
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So evocative 💜💜💜
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Thank you Willow! Glad you found it evocative. (I love that word!) 💙
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Me too it is a special word… I don’t use it lightly 🌹😉💜
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Me neither. 😊
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🌹🌹💜
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A delight to read, Betty. I too notice the use of colors. Happy New Year!
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Thank you, Audrey! Wishing you a Happy New Year also! 🙂
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Beautiful imagery, Betty, and I also liked the personification. Sending New Year hugs to you, my friend. xo
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Thank you Lauren! New Year hugs back to you. 💞 Hope you’ve been enjoying the holidays and aren’t having to work too hard!
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shrouded in the finest of blues, I’d love to see a comet any day streak by, have seen meteor showers before but that’s about it. ❤ ❤ hope you're staying warm and snacking on cookies, mom's finally arrived ❤ ❤
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Thanks, Kim – yes, staying warm and enjoying Christmas treats still. (Our daughter-in-law made the best Jule Kake!) Glad your mom’s cookies arrived! 😋💕🍪❤️
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Powerful and beautiful, Betty. The heavens are resplendent and a bit dangerous too. We’ve had lots of grey days and frost lately.
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Thank you, Lana! (My Texas cousin in above comment mentioned how cold it was down there. Ironically it’s warmed up into the 50’s today here in the NW!)
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Oh wow, that sounds good to me. We are about to have some “deep freeze” weather. The good thing is that it rarely last more than a few days, but we are certainly not used to that sort of cold. Looks like winter will be sticking around for awhile. Stay warm! 😀
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And like all good sentinels, we, Earth or people, remember the things that impact our sense of wonder and send our dreams to flight.
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Thank you for your lovely, poetic comment, Sharon. 🙂
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We see ourselves and our close ones as so large and important. The cosmos has a way of cutting up down to size. Thank you for the timely reminder, Betty.
And for the inspiration …
EPHEMERA
Bubbles all we are
Air, water ours to enjoy
And share our moment
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Thanks back to you, Ben. I’m honored to have inspired your lovely Senryu! 🙂
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Well we have both had painful reminders this year too which I am sure had a hand in the inspiration.
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Painful indeed. Hope you’re holding up as well as possible, Ben. I’m finding meditation to be one of the most important things in keeping it together. (And you’re to thank, as it hadn’t been part of my regular routine for awhile and you – and your poetry – reminded me often. So, thank you. ❤️ )
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I am always happy to learn that someone is benefiting from their practice. Long may it be so, Betty.
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Thank you again, Ben. 🙂
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