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Poetry from the December 2000 Issue
Winter Trilogy
Daylight Saving
On
a wet black day
Early morning traffic glides &endash;
Phosphorescent fish.
Silent Night
Alone in a house
At
Christmas time, I can hear
Poinsettia pods clink.
Winter's Architectonics
Snow-covered
branches
Standing
etched against bright skies &endash;
A blueprint
for spring.
&endash;
MARY C. HESS
December Snow Storm
a white liquid stream,
a fall of snow
pouring through the glow of a street lamp.
flowing past my eyes
like a river
through a wisp of pines.
as quick as this frozen
river of white rapids moves
it stops!
one by one
large crystals,
glowing white neon stars
float
gently to their
late December bed.
&endash;
D.C. HETZLER
Hit-and-Run
on the Road to Arles
Today Little Vincent draws the sky at night,
stars and moon over some nebular scene.
Dark dark blue, his sky is a little light
for
the teacher's taste. Her skies loom
blacker than the gloom that pours
out
of her mouth and onto
all
the children's drawings.
She
holds her tongue
and
steps to the next child
whose name we will never know.
Back again, the teacher sees that Vincent
has
populated his light night sky
with bright rounds of all colors
&endash; suns without rays.
Saying "Twinkle, twinkle, Little Star,"
she
takes the yellow crayon out of Vincent's hand
and
makes a five-pointed stick star.
Vincent thinks, but has learned not to say,
"Five fangs." On the next walk-by,
she
holds up Vincent's paper,
points to the big bright yellow ball,
and
explains to everyone
how
the orange crescent inside
ruins it.
The
tone in her voice wilts sunflowers
as
she inspires Little Vincent to smear clouds
all
over his starry night
with the black crayon.
&endash;
ROSE ANN SPAITH
Previously
published in Prize Poems 1996: Pennsylvania Poetry Society and The
Pinnacle, 1997.
Winter is here.
Gray cap, foggy scarf,
White boots.
Trees dream
About waves
Crashing wildly
Upon cosmic beaches.
Trees dream about
Amethyst towers
And
golden thresholds.
Sap
sleeps
Under silent frost.
&endash;
Mireya Blanco