Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Snow Men

"One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; And have been cold along time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter Of the January sun; and not to think Of any misery in the sound of the wind, In the sound of a few leaves, Which is the sound of the land Full of the same wind That is blowing in the same bare place For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is."

I really enjoyed this poem because I love winter. I felt that for the most of the poem it was saying that to enjoy winter, something many people dislike, a person must have a different perspective of it then their own. "True wisdom has two sides." For people who only think of winter as a cold, barren season that brings death to all the trees and flowers probably wouldn't aprreciate winter as those who like winter. I love winter because everything is dead and dark colored while the snow that covers it is so white, it creates a beautiful contrast. I love it when my nose and cheeks and hands get cold and then I go inside somewhere warm and can feel the contrast of the cold on my skin and the warmth in the air.
The poem talks about the sound of the wind which is like a howling sound and describes a landscape of winter with the trees covered with snow. In the beginning of the poem it says, "One must have a mind of winter", which made me think that perhaps for someone to like winter they have to have a certain way of thinking, maybe a colder, darker way than a person who loves the warm, sunny season of summer and spring.

1 comment:

  1. I so do not have a "mind of winter." However, I can still appreciate that people do and I do like the figurative language in this poem. It makes me feel cold just reading it. :)

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