Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Aestivation's End

 
Summer Night, 1913, by Albert Bloch


Vetr and his daughters
step out of their summer chalets,
yawn, stretch,
exchange nods across the valleys
and begin to descend.

They tiptoe and stomp,
gracefully glide or slump down to rest,
leaving a touch of frost here,
early snow there,
across the autumnal landscape.

They may admire the warm-hued leaves
or pity the farmer's harvest,
and spare their chilling touch
for a while.  They may not. 

But they walk along,
change drifting in their wake
as they go south
for the winter.



Aestivation: dormancy during periods of heat and drought
Vetr: Old Norse for Winter

10 comments:

  1. Your poem is perfect for Bloch's art! A former co-worker of mine hails from Norway .. she would call out 'Vetr is coming soon' when the leaves began to change colors!!!

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  2. oh my yes I get it! We just moved to a higher altitude-colder even tho more southerly and dryer climate....it's all about ATTITUDE! cheers

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  3. crap crap crap it took me 5 times to get the word verification right...ack ack

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  4. Beautifully realized take on the prompt...

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  5. i am glad for now they have spared the farmer....very cool take on the prompt though giving person to the coming of the seasonal change...

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  6. Just wonderful...the personification of nature itself...love it!

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  7. I don't look forward to it, however you make it appear more pleasant than I believe it to be. :)

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  8. Wonderful invocation to the Frost King ! , long may he spare your Garden

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