Bodies are burning their oil lamps brightly

from the windows overlooking the church  

their silhouettes shape-shift on the bedroom walls

as they move from room to room,

neither stand still long enough for you 

to grasp who or what they are,

televisions flicker in accord

as if planned in some way, it’s strangely romantic

as if part of a passion play – and I am the only one h...

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This city of rooftops
this tangle of streets
Houses perched 
upon hillsides
This fragmented view
a colour sample chart
of various greys
Choose any shade…

A ghoulish wind rattles 
shivering window panes
as remnants of noisy leaves 
shuffle down crooked lanes
Frozen snow 
blocking passageways
I wiggle my toes
to keep the blood flowing

Between five rivers
a hill I rise, or will s...

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The snow is not to blame

In fact, it covers it up

All that I see is kindness

On the white covered ground

The snow is not to blame

It offers a rest bite

from worry,

as the crystals float past

my window  

an endless letting

       go

an endless letting

             go

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Lobo’s Got a New Ride

Sirens howl in the December morning frosty air the pale haze of cold morning dew. The coffee pot drips the house back into life out of the deep winter slumber. What a good time to sleep she heard him say, but she wasn’t sure if it was she who said it first. The burst came later upon the reflections of a future not yet arrived, a direction she can’t see. She thinks it will ...

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Scarborough Sleeps

Distant church bells probe fretted air, where

Roof top gulls roost, wrapped in feathery cloaks.

Shivering clouds sob mournfully about everyone’s panes, and a

Hibernating town huddles under a grey blanket.

Shuttered shop fronts rattle their complaints,

Shared only by a spiteful wind that patrols dark doorways.

Customers long departed to foreign part...

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Beneath the aching winter’s shroud,

A child walked mute through the bustling crowd.

Her feet, bare whispers on the frozen stone,

Her ribs a harp of hunger’s tone.

She carried a box, her treasure, her thread

Of tiny star-sticks, sulfur-fed.

She called to the rich, the hurried, the gray,

“Buy one, kind sir, and light your way.”

But no one paused, no coin was tossed,

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Mid month

as a good a time as any other

to write of howling winds that smother

Every hint

of comfort and the daily norms

to replace them all with Darragh's storms

Which break

the trees which crash and fall upon

wires, and thus: the village power has gone

And then

in every room in every country cottage

is darkness from the lack of wattage

No h...

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Snowflakes fall, a silent lullaby,

Blankets of white beneath twilight sky,

Bare branches etched in frost’s sigh,

Cold winds weave through the night,

Stars alight, crisp and bright,

Warm fireside light,

Frozen plight,

Deep night,

Still.

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Shall we meet December soon?

November is just for a week.

Shall we meet a new moon?

Will you show me the trick?

What have I noticed at my age?

The time flies, New Year comes.

I'll write carefully a new life page,

A page will be without any harms.

The time of the year suddenly changes,

I had no time to see many stranges.

I hope that my heart will be...

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Chill spreads through the land,
Branches bare, skies hold their breath,
Snow's touch soon to come.


Frost whispers softly,
Bare earth awaits its white cloak,
Winter’s gift unfolds.


In twilight’s quiet,
Hope stirs with each frosty breath,
Snowfall's gentle kiss.


Trees reach silent arms,
Night's first flake drifts to the ground,
World awakens bright.


Hearts lift in still...

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Chill spreads through the land,
Branches bare, skies hold their breath,
Snow's touch soon to come.


Frost whispers softly,
Bare earth awaits its white cloak,
Winter’s gift unfolds.


In twilight’s quiet,
Hope stirs with each frosty breath,
Snowfall's gentle kiss.


Trees reach silent arms,
Night's first flake drifts to the ground,
World awakens bright.


Hearts lift in still...

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Sweat on the ground

Moist all around

Shivering was the witch

Until the mob surround her switch 

The crimes untold

As the woman's wrath unfolds

While the flames ignite 

to the crowds’ delight

Her screams echo fuelling the mobs hate

While masking their fate as her soul surrounds them 

The forest of death has a witches’ breath

With eyes that see through...

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I kick away the leaves
uncover the carved stones
And reading your names again
I let those feelings flood in

The two of you rest together
laid deep beneath the earth
There’s a tree that grows above you
and here’s me, treading my own winter

Life was in wealth, awhile
but I’ve been chasing that warmth 
for three decades now
I’m tired and my body aches

There will be fireworks tonight
...

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Grey winter chills me, stops me, binds me

Like ice sliding into my body..freezing my soul

Thoughts frozen can’t move me  

Lifeless limbs burning with cold

A stillness that isn’t calm 

A coldness that does me harm

Restricts my life’s horizon

Only my heart with the heat to fire my mind

A heart still beating for you 

A never dying ember of love

Let’s live where the sun a...

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Golden windows
And golden walls. 
Silver back surfers
Riding through the fall. 
I'm here waiting 
Comiserating-
Why can't I stay in the Golden halls?

The trees are embers. 
There are apples on the floor.
I get the feeling 
death is at my door.  
wish I could stay in the golden halls. 

The golden halls. 
The golden halls. 
Wish I could stay in the golden halls.

This is about ...

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The winter frost calls
As memories of spring fade,
Autumn breeze beckons

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The cold winter air whistles melodically

A gentle breeze sneaks past my fingers

Blue Lipped

Frozen Feet 

Teary eyed

Memories of autumn spring forth

So close yet so far away

Teddy coat wearers scattered across the London fog

AirPods in, walking briskly

Listening to my favourite tunes 

Not trying to blend in 

Just learning to be

Realising that happiness is free

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It’s that time of the year, how some people truly do love it.

The cold brings the night early, brisk wind and mild flurries

Grab the old winter jacket, red beanie and gloves with a snug fit

The winters here unfortunately, they’re calling for snow in the mornin

The salt crunches under you as you spread it, one cold gust makes you hurry

It’s that time of the year, how some people trul...

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Autumn leaves, skipping

Up the old apples and pears

To her wintry rest.

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Upon a winter's 

Midnight stroll 

I came across 

A pallid soul

Who, like the snow

Was cold & fair

With tearful eyes

Of such despair

I offered her

A warming hand

And woke within

A frozen land

Where, I myself

Turned cold & fair

With tearful eyes 

Of dark despair

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the long winter is almost past

the long winter is almost past

the sun has started to travel back north

trying to get through checkpoints

on its way from southern countries

the snow that was beautiful

when it fell weeks ago

is now slick ice, not pretty

and is dangerous

the full moon shone bright

the last few nights, giving

extra beauty to the ni...

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nature is sleeping

under a blanket of white 

to wake in the spring

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how cold it is now

in a world of one colour 

the winter is pale

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Some people have a favourite season

The beautiful bright sunny days of Summer

perhaps the subtle colours of Autumn

Maybe the endless smells of Spring

or the cosiness that only Winter can bring.

Me… I fell in love with the changes in seasons

they are like my children

Everyone with their own mystique

changing before my eyes while growing up to be unique.

I ...

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Red Granite

Listen closely and hear

To know what the dawn needs

Tired eyes and a drifting thought

You must be astronaut sat upon God’s knees

Closer to hear

What the colors of dawn needs

Poppyseed fields at the foot of a valley

The crimson of God’s teeth

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And on a lonely seat in a cold winter night where it all began. Yearning for what once was, but not still and never again.

Was it hope bewitching my mind. Thinking all ache has passed. Or was it true serenity that was too rare to last.

In the dark of night my mind wanders free. Seeking a relief beyond my reach.

Then the day comes and it's darker still. Though the sun shines bright, my sun...

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no wintry night beats
and rattles my windowpane
like Marley's ghost

the freezing gusts, too, are a farce,
so is the unlawful snow

the Spring is just concealed
a bit short of here;
I know
buds begin swelling
though carpeted with ice
to delay

© Brian Hodgkinson Jr. (aka) Limericist 2021

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letter to spring / michael kwack

in a wind

there i smell a scent of spring

i've passed the winter away

in a far place alone

but it was now

only hours of emptiness

i've got to write letters

the last confession to myself

then meet the spring

in complete quietness

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This winter afternoon

Everything is calm

Everything is silence around me

I only listen to my thoughts

And the inevitable noise

coming from the heater.

I am sitting, staring at nothing

Remembering,

Thinking,

Deep wounds bleed again

Hard times come to me

Long sleepless nights

Wild parties

Expensive trips

Sad and old songs

Therapies, books, movies and...

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Our first snow in so many years…

Can you believe it?

See the white coat that our life wears?

Let’s just go out and live it.

I will not watch life through the keyhole

Hypnotized by the view,

When I can finally touch your soul

And tango with you.

I’ve grown deaf in the spring rain,

In the summer heat,

But now when it snows again,

I hear your heartbeat.

The snowfla...

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it's right underneath,

brewing under my chest

this quiet whisper circling-

not spiraling downwards as 

i often tend to, but in a way a

gentle breeze swirls a handful

of leaves and they flutter away.

there's an inquisitive nature 

to it where there is somehow a

sense of magic at hand, and yet

somehow there must be a reason

to it all. a scientific process that 

al...

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You say the snow is a magical thing
Coming down from the heavens like magic
Before joining up together on the ground
And Father Christmas throws it all down
Just to complete the experience

Drifting your happiness across town
Whether by car or bus
In-between two places on Christmas Day
When another downpour
Leaves the pair of us laughing

Telling each other ironically
It could only ha...

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I stepped outside and the sound of my feet made me nervous as I slowly walked along a neverending thick white floor.

The snow clung to my boots as if to find some warmth or maybe a hug.

Within minutes my hands were stiffened by the icy air that felt strong enough to slice through my stone cold fingers.

I should have wore gloves, I said to myself as I made 2 fists and buried them deep insi...

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The Winter Morning!

Ujjal Mandal, India

The winter morning sheds thick tears, 
None but the sun comes to weep 
Her tears out as a mother does when
The child cries.

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​​​​​​Wintry nights, no sun shines

Where to bloom there's no place for gloom by my side

By the time, I will withered away 

But indelible marks wouldn't fade away 

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Steady beats the pulse of the sun

Wonder still leaps from its beams

Yet beneath a mask of bonhomie

That sad star is not what it seems

Watching its favourite run to waste

Hot tears escape that burning eye

Bound by nature to fry its offspring

Torch forests, put winter in the sky

What treasure this greedy satellite

Down the ages pillaged from space

Squandering ...

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Dead Leaves

You once grew green

On lofty branches

Defiant against the clouds

Fluttering in the breeze

But now the tree has gone

Just a pale ghost of memory

And the sky is dominant

In my front windows

Your first death was brittle

Old man skeleton scratching

Whipping up your decline

In whorls of frustration

And when the rain came

Like falling tears

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Dissolved into the dark

Part of it all

At one

With winter

Everything has disappeared

Yet nothing

Is feared

For it's all the same

Not death

Nor riot

Just mind

At last

Quite

Now I let

The light

Back in

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The winter time - it may be cold and wet, 
But there are things which we should not forget. 
Do you enjoy trudging through the snow, 
Or rather stay inside with nowhere to go?

Of course we now have Christmas too, 
Which is a time to rejoice for me and you. 
And we prepare for the long dark nights, 
A new year begins with great delight.

And so it is now time to look ahead, 
Not with de...

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The sun sighted as a Galilean dream

As vision faded from the grasp of Winter

A kid leaned out of the window

Whispering out what he needed to say

But in needing to blurt it out

His mind submerged in uncertainty 

Choked between a tearless cry

And a cheerless laugh

As with notated thoughts all about

His room was littered

And the sidelined life he adopted

Was cast to t...

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And so it begins. Or ends

The seasons change and as

September dies lies forgotten

Like Summer, Autumn October

Rears. Not misty mellow fruitfullness

With rusty leaf colour bright splashing

Hedgerow and tree russet yellow brown,

Mists that turn to rain and wind and heavy

Rain splashing in the track ruts and puddles

Around the farm;  every field soggy with all the

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A sigh

a beautiful sunrise

the smell of lavender

the chill of winter

a sigh of love in my soul

in this moment

I live

I dream

I love

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My older sister, several other girls

met on the concrete square in our backyard

to test the sheet of ice that wouldn't melt

in rare moments of a "real" winter

in a New Orleans suburb. In 1994, 

they were only in junior high

but seemed so grown up when I was five

and watched how easy it was for them to teach

me how to slide over the slipperiness

i...

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Stretching their limbs

up high to the heavens

outwardly so thin and fragile

but still vitally full of the force of life

enduring the stark harshness

of nature's capricious temperament

strong in root and sure of stature

the cold azure of a winter's sky

interspersed with snow filled pillows

on which to rest their hibernal heads.

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We know each year it comes to us
Darkness, to bright cold winter days
The greens become a golden yellow
Before bareness reveals ageing old oaks
Yet cousins stay that darker luscious green 
And brave red berries are to be born again
In time for their festive December displays

Birds, squirrels, foxes and rats still search
To find enough to live in our way 
Close enough, but not as our pre...

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christmas is ridiculous

a frenzy of indoctrination 

sentimental propaganda

pressure to participate

unrealistic expectations

inculcated in the kids

while parents go insane 

it goes against the grain to be 

so busy at this time of year

we should be curled up by the fire

not fucking running round so wired 

to buy this tat that no one needs

sanctifying endless greed

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At dusk

a pink moon

low over the sheds

in a cold clear sky -

ice blue, yet light

hiding stars

a leaf fall

the pond water stills

but does not freeze

Much later

that same moon

lights my bedroom

in the cold night air -

velvet black, the sky

glints stars

an owl flash

my blood chills

but does not freeze

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Night.

I am transported by

a narrow orange moon

                and a million stars

                the still cool air

                the silence of the yard

I am welcomed by

a single ghostly owl swoop

                over the sheep fields

                the creak of my gate

                the scratch of my key on the lock

then

the silent click...

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The tree
Leafless bony
Branches

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ðə króz ləmɛ́nt

(tékən frə́m ‘the bʊ́k ə́v crows’)

kró stǽnd ən fíld

sɪ́ŋ kró sɔ́ŋ

tú hjúmən ɪ́r

sáwnd rɔ́ŋ

koww koww koww

kró blǽk ə́v wɪ́ŋ

kró blǽk ə́v bón

kró blǽk ə́v hárt

kró só əlón

áj hǽd brə́ðər blǽk

bə́t brə́ðər blǽk ɪ́z gɔ́n

tékən báj ðə wɪ́ntər

hɪ́r máj sǽd kró sɔ́ŋ

“stick mǽn

...

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