There is no snow this Christmas
by poetrydiary
There is no snow this Christmas,
no fantasies or fairy trails.
Damp pavements and fallen leaves,
and cold reluctance from the breeze.
A solitary jogger,
wearing pink and moving slowly,
glancing at a passing cyclist,
who doesn’t pause to wave.
Everyone, like the season,
slowing to a hesitation,
lost between their self and others;
waiting for the world to stop.
Grey magnolias reflect
the flat sky, in buds pointing
upwards, quietly ignoring
the mood of the day.
I will focus on these, although
there is no snow this Christmas.
———————-
Posted on Poets United and dVerse.
poetry diary 
We don’t have snow yet, but your poem is somber and deep ~ I specially like this stanza ~
Grey magnolias reflect
the flat sky, in buds pointing
upwards, quietly ignoring
the mood of the day.
Sigh…I wish we had snow here…and I agree with Grace, the “Grey magnolias” stanza is my favorite too.
this is beautiful!
♥
Does an absence of snow mean an absence of holiday cheer? Maybe those folks would have waved in a different setting…
there is a finely crafted sense of loss, melancholy and absence which emerges through the astutely observed details.
no snow, grey magnolias, solitary jogger – your words give your poem so much emotion!
No snow here either. Just grey, grey, grey and drizzle. I agree about the ‘grey magnolia’ stanza…speaks so well of so much!
I like the pace of this, which seems to underline the sense.
I like your focus.
Waiting for the world to stop… ah, how that line captures so much … then
Grey magnolias reflect
the flat sky, in buds pointing
upwards, quietly ignoring
the mood of the day.
Well done.
Seeing that you describe my own perfect Xmas, I find it not easy to gauge your feelings here. But probably yours are feelings of regret.
🙂
Regret?..Slightly, yes – but I think I’m really just coming to terms with the loss of a child’s romantic innocence and expectation about Christmas (it has take 30 years or so…!). I’ve also enjoyed a couple of romantic Decembers in my time, with snow on the ground, and someone special and new around.
The bit about magnolia buds is intended to be optimistic though.
I loved the last stanza–such a beautifully vivid write
You create art from the melancholy felt by many during the holidays, and the effort made to lighten the mood. Lovely.
Wise to focus on the magnolia buds. Hope for spring if nothing else. Your poem has a wonderful atmospheric quality to it. You created a mood slightly sad but still enticing somehow.
Beautifully expressed.
no snow here either….i think i would find the beautiful things as well to focus on…i so hope we get some snow though….just saying…it is interesting how christmas changes for us as wel age…
Time, yet, for snow to arrive … I particularly like the wordplay in ‘… no fantasies or fairy trails’ ~ excellent
I love the opening and somber, yet meaningful, progression this poem takes. I feel the austere loss in the slow moving surroundings and the sincere hope in magnolia’s buds.