This week Poem of the Day is celebrating the start of December, with a poem each day somehow related to the month. On Monday and Tuesday we had a pair of English poets, and yesterday was the first in a pair of Americans.
Jackson's December is the final piece in a book of poetry entitled A Calendar of Sonnets, originally published in 1886. I'm sure you can guess the subject of the eleven preceding pieces. If you're interested, you can read the whole book for free at Project Gutenberg.
The lakes of ice gleam bluer than the lakes
Of water 'neath the summer sunshine gleamed:
Far fairer than when placidly it streamed,
The brook its frozen architecture makes,
And under bridges white its swift way takes.
Snow comes and goes as messenger who dreamed
Might linger on the road; or one who deemed
His message hostile gently for their sakes
Who listened might reveal it by degrees.
We gird against the cold of winter wind
Our loins now with mighty bands of sleep,
In longest, darkest nights take rest and ease,
And every shortening day, as shadows creep
O'er the brief noontide, fresh surprises find.
As usual, it concentrates primarily on nature. I suppose it's no surprise that all the poetry found easily online is quite old -- it's a copyright thing, I should imagine -- and therefore obviously not concerned with aspects of modern experience
Tomorrow, we end the week with a December-themed Funny Friday.
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