Their names are at the bottom of this post.
R eally not a fan
of winter things
I get the cold weather blues
badly
when it’s cold
I’d like to die
or maybe
if I had a river
I could skate away on
I could feel better
but with my luck
I’d probably fall in
and be trapped under ice
oh yeah —
and a long december
forget it
all through the frozen nights
I hear the hounds of winter
and their blood curdling howling
next morning
their footprints in the snow
only serve to remind me
we’re trapped
soon to be snowbound
in the bleak midwinter
I get so depressed
it’s usually a blue christmas
but maybe
if we make it through december
I can let it go
after all
I’ve got my love
to keep me warm
for a cozy little christmas
and the snowfall
is beautiful and —
I believe in father christmas
perhaps this year
it can actually be
a wonderful christmastime
so let the bells ring-out
for christmas now
at the closing of the year
I think I’ll make it
a very merry christmas
and a happy new year
let’s hope it’s a good one
without any fear
*
rob kistner © 2022
Poetry at: dVerse
Poetry at: Poets & Storytellers
Poetry at: earthweal
* 25 musical artists whose song titles and/or lyrics featured in this poem
~
Counting Crows
Queen
The Moody Blues
Muddy Waters
Bill Monroe
Merle Haggard
Billie Holiday
Idina Menzel
Sting
Metallica
Moby
Ariana Grande
Joni Mitchell
Paul McCartney
John Lennon
Manhattan Transfer
Donald Fagan
Hans Zimmer
Greg Lake
Toys Chorus
Katy Perry
James Taylor
Wendy & Lisa
Seal
Elvis
LOVE THIS! And most especially the positive ending!!! You did indeed have fun with the prompt 🙂
PS: Mark you calendar: January 19th I’ll be hosting OLN LIVE at regular time: Thursday, 3 to 4 PM EST …. AND I’ll be hosting an added OLN LIVE on Saturday, January 21st from 10 to 11 AM EST. Hope you can join me at both! 🙂
Glad you liked this Lil… 🙂 I will try to make both, but Sat at 7:00 AM is difficult because my insomnia makes me a late morning riser.
Very well done, Rob. I love your positive ending and the hope for a fearless Christmas.
Thank you Dwight… 🙂
I too wish for a good holiday and new year. Last year wasn’t so great. Nicely done poem.
Here’s to a better 2023… 🙂
Ok, you had me at the snowman! haha – well, I get those winter blues and sometimes the cold is hard to shake off. Make it the best Christmas ever Rob!
Thsnk you very much my friend… 🙂
Stay strong, Rob!
~David
You as well David… 🙂
Nice one Rob.
Warm Wishes.
Much ???? love
Thank you Gillena, much love my friend… 🙂
I love how you moved from despondency to positivity, Rob! Let’s hope Christmas is good this year. ??
Yes Punam, lets hope it frees some love into this bitter angry world…
Check out this
Whirligig Prompt 400
Much????love
Thanks for the tip Gillena. I will check it out… 🙂 …much love my friend.
Ah, you came around in the end. I live in N. MI and many elderly people, believe it or not, are starting to chose to retire here these days!
Another one of my grievances is heat and humidity. I live in the Pacific Northwest where bitter cold is very rare (40’s), snow happens occasionally but is rare, heat is very rare (70’s -80’s), humidity is essentially non existent, and mosquitos are sparse and only for a few weeks at end of summer. I love it here because it suits all my complaints. Margaret, I love Northern Michigan and when I lived in Cincinnati 35 years ago, My father and I fished N-Mich, N-Minn, and the lakes around Espanola Ontario. But in 1990, the humidity and mosquitos finally drove me, at age 43, to live in Oregon, and fish and hike the pristine lakes/rivers/streams of the mountain wilderness of the Cascade Mountains. My failing health has sadly taken those beloved activities from me. But I absolutely love the weather and social culture of the Pac-NE. At nearly 76, I plan to be here to the end — which given my health, may not be that terribly far off in my future. 🙂
Winter white is beautiful – glad to see your heart was changed, a bit 🙂
I love snow, even like rain — I just hate hate cold, so it is a precarious affair Margaret… 🙂
I can relate. There is definitely a gloominess that comes with Winter and it can be hard to shake. This piece made me think about the song by Joni Mitchell, “River”.
That is probably because I used her title “River”, and some of the her lyrics of that wonderful song. At the very bottom of my “Christmas Mix” post you will find a list of the 22 musical artists I used as influence in writing the poem.
Aww, I’m sorry, Rob. I missed that! Great inspirations.
😉
This is so poignant! Sending you lots of warmth and good cheer for Christmas and New Year ahead, my friend 🙂
Thank you Sanaa. Good cheer to you my friend as well.
Winter in December is rarely any good… the wonderful winter later in February and March is often wonderful.
For me Bjorn winter is never a first choice… 🙂
I like your bright Christmas spirit here and also like the Joni lyrics you put in.
Thank you I’m glad Lisa… 🙂
Brilliant <3
Thank you Angela
<3 wonderful construction Rob!
Thank you Kate… 🙂
I hate cold weather too! And will never live anywhere that it snows! But you turned it around beautifully after all, and Happy Xmas to you too.
You and me Rosemary, snd thank you… 🙂
I feel much the same about the festive season, Rob! Nevertheless, I hope its a good one for you.
Thank you Ingrid, and for you and your loved ones… 🙂
A roll of quarters here for the Christmas blues jukebox!
Cool Brendan, let’s drop’em in ‘n let’m spin ‘til we grin… 🙂
Cool mix. I love the “hounds of winter”. Actually I like winter and wish we’d get a little snow but it looks like another brown one is in the making. When there are footprints in the snow, up around the house, and were they peeking in the windows? it gives one pause.
I like snow Yvonne, just hate the cold – quite a quandary, eh… 😉
It took me a little bit to appreciate winter, but I’ve finally come around to it (unless I have to drive in the snow).
Lived in areas of deep winter freeze, and humid mosquito filled summer bake, for nearly half my 75 years — but not for the past 32. Never going back into such a place. Now if I want to see a snowy wonderland — I simply drive high into the Cascade Mountains.
I like the way your narrator talks himself out of his gloomy mood!
He’s very convincing… 🙂
This is pretty amazing….and witty! I recognized a few songs too. Great work!
Thank you stacy… 🙂