January Almanac
Frosted black pavement
Slush hillocks turned ice, packed snow
Slippery when wet
Streetlights spot diamonds
Every street a booby-trap
of black ice
East outflow winds
Harsh, strong, glittering, long
freeze-drying Winter
Puffy Capsize coat
Icebreaker socks, Northside boots
my new best friends
© 2017 by Violet Nesdoly (All rights reserved)
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Winter has caught my attention. This year we’ve had particularly long cold spells with snow off and on since mid-December. Then mid-day the temperature warms to just above freezing and for a few hours the snow melts till the temps dip again. The pair of sturdy, warm hiking boots I bought way back in October is getting lots of use. No falls on the ice so far!
This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by Keri at Keri Recommends.
Violet Nesdoly 
Violet, I love the contrasts in your poem between diamonds and booby traps. Winter may be harsh where you are but you have made it glisten in image and words. Would you consider offering this January Almanac for my #WinterWonder17 gallery?
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Thank you, Carol! And yes, I’d be delighted for you to use this in your #WinterWonder17 Gallery. Do you need me to email it to you, or can you use it from this post?
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Violet, when I capture the set, it comes out too large so I reduced it and the words are too small to be read and a bit blurry. If you can reduce the image to 450/500 pixels and have the words under it, then it might be better. I use PicMonkey Collage when I have a photo and a poem that I want to place side by side. It has a resize and sharpen tool that works well.
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I got it! I always love a challenge. I will send it finished #imagepoem that works well in the gallery via Twitter.
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Best wishes for continuing “no falls”, Violet. My “new best friends” are Smart Wool socks and long underwear. Our own temps have been very low & high, mercurial is the word! That picture in the creek is breathtaking!
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Thanks Linda! I so understand those best friends of yours. Have resisted the long underwear, simply because the thermometer doesn’t read that cold (compared to what I knew as a child). Want to toughen myself up. The clear albeit cold days are a treat, though. I’m getting used to the cold and starting to actually enjoy it.
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Ha! I’m sporting my Smart Wool socks right now!
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They never fail me, Donna. I’ve only needed the long undies once this year, so far. But they were great!
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I love the contrasting imagery–beauty and danger–in your poems. I suspect I may have to watch out for some of those icy booby traps tomorrow. Enjoy those hiking boots!
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Thanks, Kay! There’s nothing like a good pair of boots for a feeling of warmth and security. I saw an interesting item on the news a few days ago. Local sporting goods stores complained they were running out of detachable grippers people could somehow attach to boot bottoms—having the effect, I believe, of studded tires. I could have used those this week.
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We have treacherous black ice everywhere now, too! It warms up just enough to smooth over, then it freezes slick again…I LOVE that photo!
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Thanks, Donna! What you describe – thaw, then free again, is exactly what’s happening here.
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A winter poem to shiver and enjoy, Violet – no falls, though!
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Thank you, Tara. I agree, no falls, please!
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I am sitting under my “old best friend” (homemade blankets) with a roaring fire awaiting to see if the temperatures will be steady or will dip below the freezing mark. We are right on the boarder! Stay warm and vertical! 🙂
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Thanks, Leigh Anne! I’m trying (to stay warm and vertical 😉
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We’ve had an unusually cold winter too this year, definitely a season for the wooly socks and grippy hiking boots! I know a few people who’ve discovered those hidden black ice booby-traps – ouch!!
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Thank you, Jane! I live in the Vancouver ‘burbs (Langley) so I know whereof you speak. I’m just glad I don’t have to drive to work these frosty, black-icy mornings. Stay safe!
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oh, the delicioussssssssssssssss aliteration in this poem. I love how you incorporate the road sign slippery when wet into this look at a freezy day. The ice sculpture photo is really cool too! Isn’t nature just amazing. Truly, our world is more fantastic that we could ever dream up. Have a great week.
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Thanks so much, Linda. I agree: “more fantastic than we could ever dream up.”
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I am celebrating no falls this year, too. Woo-hoo! Love the visual of the creek sculpture. The poem puts me right there, midwinter, even though we are having a balmy few days here.
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Good for you Brenda. The weather people are predicting some balm for us too—probably accompanied by rain. So I will continue to enjoy the crisp, clear cold.
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I hope the rain takes away your ice. Crisp and cold is so fun when the sidewalks are clear.
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Wow. The ice sculptures in that photo are stunning! Keep staying warm and safe!
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Thank you, Mary Lee! Those sculptures reminded me of old fashioned tallow-dipped candles.
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Those ice scuptures are serious common place marvels! Love how “streetlight spot diamonds”. Take care and stay warm taking those photos.
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I cannot imagine what I would do faced with so much ice and snow! Good luck staying upright — no falls allowed!
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Thank you, Keri. So far so good!
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What a gorgeous spot! I want to get on my boots and join you! Your words describe it perfectly, Violet.
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Thank you Kiesha. Yes, there is lots that’s gorgeous about snow-covered.
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Brr! It’s beautiful, but I can’t say I wish I were in it! Ruth in Haiti (thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com)
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I totally understand Ruth! Right now the warmth of Haiti sounds pretty good to me too (although one gets surprisingly used to the cold).
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Love that photo – and the poem pairs nicely, Violet.
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Thanks so much, Matt!
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Violet, better you than I…unrelenting cold is not my thing (but your poem is). Even better is that gorgeous, fascinating photograph–instant stalagmites!
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Thank you, Heidi. That’s a great comparison: “stalagmites”!
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