Bitter Cold

Posted on January 12, 2010 by

snows beauty gone
for those lost–those preparing
three untimely graves

About these ads

About Yousei Hime

This is the journal of a poetic rabbit. Within the warren you'll find poetry, short stories, essays, art, book and movie reviews, and other odds and ends. If you happen to meet the fey princess, be courteous. This rabbit did and was forever changed.
This entry was posted in Haiku, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

15 Responses to Bitter Cold

  1. Pingback: NaHaiWriMo Day 7 | Shiteki Na Usagi

  2. Joseph Harker says:
    January 13, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    What the hell was the school district thinking? o__O That’s what snow days are for…

    Anyway, a touching homage; it’s striking, the way you can say so much, with so few words.

    Reply
    • Yousei Hime says:
      January 14, 2010 at 7:25 am

      Joseph,
      Thanks for visiting and your comment. I still think about those families. Their lives are changed forever. It reminds me of what Tolkien has Theoden say about the death of his son. No parent should outlive their child.

      Reply
  3. catgirlslovehaiku says:
    January 13, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    This haiku so reminds me of one time I was at the graveyard. I noticed that there were two graves of two young men about the same age at the time of their deaths. I knew this because their pictures were on the tombstones along with their dates. The most eerie part about this was that they were brothers!

    If I were to write a haiku about this experience, I would write very similar to what you captured in yours. Truly great haiku.

    Reply
    • Yousei Hime says:
      January 14, 2010 at 7:18 am

      Nekochan,
      I just had to write something. I still think about the families. I can’t imagine their grief. I have to believe they see no beauty in winter now. Thanks for sharing your experience and for the complement on the haiku.

      Reply
  4. Lisa at Greenbow says:
    January 13, 2010 at 9:29 am

    So tragically sad.

    Reply
  5. lesliepaints says:
    January 12, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    Your words were aptly put. My first thought was “OH NO” and a sinking feeling. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones.

    Reply
  6. Amity says:
    January 12, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    I was quite puzzled by your words, but then when i read yours and others comment I came to realize what is it all about.

    The hardest really is losing a loved one!

    This work of yours, made me think a lot!

    Reply
  7. Sandy says:
    January 12, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    I have lived in Maine for 40 years, but winter still makes me nervous. Storys like this are so sad. Our school do most usually shut down, though.

    Reply
  8. Technobabe says:
    January 12, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Young people who will be missed by many. Your haiku is a sweet tribute them.

    Reply
  9. Julie says:
    January 12, 2010 at 11:48 am

    Oh, Yousei! When I read your poem, I knew it must be something like an accident or illness, because of the word “untimely.” I was hoping it wasn’t true. Now that I see your comment, there are tears in my eyes. I am so sorry.

    You are right. It is not the same snow. What was probably exciting a day before (maybe school was closed) has turned into a nightmare. As a mom, I can’t even imagine the horror.

    Your poem is very powerful. It has moved me and made me think in a personal way about the people who are part of the grief. It has done what a poem should do. It has made me feel.

    Reply
    • Yousei Hime says:
      January 12, 2010 at 12:04 pm

      Julie,
      Thanks for reading this and leaving a comment. I had to write something, after my husband told me about the accident. He found out after his harrowing drive to work yesterday. I don’t think the schools were closed; I know ours wasn’t. It is a difficult call for districts to make, but so tragic when something like this happens. I dread the time my own boys drive in this weather. It won’t be until after much, much, much practice. Even after twenty years living up north, my own confidence in driving in snowy weather is very low.

      I’m glad the poem worked. I hate it that there was a reason to write it. I do not know the families and would not give the poem to them if I did. It would mean nothing. I can only pray for them.

      Reply
  10. Yousei Hime says:
    January 12, 2010 at 11:20 am

    Yesterday, three teenagers from a nearby school district were killed driving to school in near blizzard conditions. It is not the same snow today.

    Reply

If you leave tracks, I'll find you.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. ( Log Out / Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s