Apricity
No footprints in the snow,
just a hazy shade of winter white
yawns before me this morn,
as cold-weather blues court Gainsborough,
paint sky above outstretched fingertips
of evergreen and oak,
into a white winter hymnal
framing a congregation flocking south,
leaving winter things behind.
Cries of, "Let it go" float downward,
encourage me to fashion roses from snow,
a "make love, not war" invitation,
which I accept.
The hounds of winter have yet
to swirl and nip their way across the lake
through a long December night,
and Jesus, 21 feet below,
has yet to be trapped beneath ice,
but when lit, will encourage me
to love like winter, sun warm upon my face,
truly feeling kissed.
by Margaret Bednar, December 7, 2022
Playing along with "dVerse Poets Come Sing with Me!" Use at least two titles within the body of a poem. I used 11 of 16. GO GIVE IT A TRY!
Apricity is an amazing word that dates back to 1623 and never really caught on. It is a "warming" winter word - Have you ever gone outside and felt the soft warmth of a winter sun? This is apricity. (spell check wants me to change this word as it doesn't recognize it - truly archaic!
HERE (click for article) is a link to the Giant crucifix beneath the shores of Little Traverse Bay, Petoskey, MI. I hope to experience it some day. Love my hometown.
14 comments:
Well! I ABSOLUTELY love learning a new word! Thank you! And oh yes.....there is nothing like sitting in the midst of snow and tipping your face up to the sun and feeling that warmth! Have done it many times. I love everything about your poem. So very glad you posted to the prompt. I felt the optimism in the first stanza....and the imagery "framing a congregation flocking their way south" - fantastic. I just truly enjoyed this poem!
Thank you for introducing me to a new word...I love how it sounds. The last lines are lovely.
Some lovely descriptions that feel like that very edge of winter....better to accept it, rather than deny the inevitable. Thanks for sharing the word, "apricity" and the information about the crucifix in Lake Michigan. Wow!! I had no idea.
This is incredibly exquisite in its imagery and depth, Margaret 😍 I especially admire; "as cold-weather blues court Gainsborough, paint sky above outstretched fingertips of evergreen and oak, into a white winter hymnal."💘
That is a word I have never seen... In Sweden I wouldn't expect to feel any warmth from the sun until March, but warmth from sun in winter is wonderful
Thanks for the introduction to a new word. I love the way you have woven the titles into this piece. The congregation that flocked south, i can see the birds all flying away.
Apricity is such an interesting word.. thanks for introducing it!
Apricity is such a nice and wholesome word. It's funny that the spell check changed it to 'atrocity' on my phone. There are so many wonderful lines. I particularly liked how you used the crucifix here. 'White winter hymnal... south' was something else that stood out. Ending with the sun's kiss was just fab.
What a lovely new word! Thank you. And what interesting images you have come up with to illustrate it. Most of the titles were unfamiliar to me so I had to go and look them up. Well incorporated – I couldn't figure out which they were without looking!
Thank you for your lovely poem.
I learned a couple of interesting things today. "Apricity" is such a lovely word, to describe something so lovely. And that giant crucifix at the bottom of the lake, there is such a sad, but also heart-warming story about it.
The best days of our lives were the hippie days. Oh, to go back. But to those who persist swear that the ""make love, not war" invitation won't work,"Apricity", let the sun shine, and "flowers in her hair!!!"
Thanks for the new words, I can learn but the I forget, blame it on the Covid I had in March.
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Oh yes, sorry I'm late in returning. Been doctoring.
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Now I have to check out the list of titles! I like the word "apricity." I always hear the narrator saying "The sun shone warm..." in the Disney version of "Peter and the Wolf." I needed a good grown-up word for that sort of day!
Love the warming ending, made even sweater by the discovery of a new (old) word--thank you!
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