the quickening

Published on by Laura Bloomsbury 
it matters not these stinging raindrops
winter's outrun; the pursuer alights
- an insurgent swift as leaping flames
roots rally in the rot of litterfall
waning embers of smouldering golden reds
the ice has given way and fires subside
around March, when winds blow by

Putting some heat into 44  words for De’s ‘Let’s Fire it Up‘ quadrille

42 thoughts on “the quickening”

    1. after two weeks of serious family illness I am feeling as optimistic as Spring around the corner

  2. This is absolutely exquisite and has that Robert Frost poem feel 💖 Love “waning embers of smouldering golden reds.” 😍

    1. getting all the seasons in here! thank you De and for lighting my fire with this one

  4. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, Oregon today, but the rain will soon return. And so I found hope in this opening line: “it matters not these stinging raindrops.” Even when the rain returns, spring is on the way and summer soon to follow.

    1. Yes we will not be downcast by rain nor even sleet this close to the vernal equinox

  6. That’s an amazing line, Laura:
    ‘roots rally in the rot of litterfall’
    and I love the final line, with spring blowing in on those March winds.

  7. I imagine the plants stirring to the rallying cry of March winds – thank you Kim

    1. Just what I am striving for – really appreciate your comment Jane

      1. I very much like poems that have such a rhythm the reader seems to hear a rhyme that isn’t there, as much as I like the poems that rhyme in such a natural way the reader isn’t aware of the rhyme.

        1. Am rather awkward using rhyme so I mostly avoid it but admire poetry with unobtrusive rhymes

          1. It’s easy to fall into the trap of nursery rhyme effect with rhyme. Keeping it unobtrusive and making it add to the poem is the tricky part.

  10. Bringing hopes of lovely spring…

    “the ice has given way and fires subside
    around March, when winds blow by”
    – beautifully expressed.

    1. Never thought of it like that Margaret – she struggles to banish winter and only manages towards the end – still she blows away the cobwebs and the last of the old leaves. She is the freshness of a new start 🙂

  12. Today walking around in the snow falling and feeling the cold fire of the flakes on my cheeks I totally understand the stinging rsindrops. But spring is coming. There is still hope@

    1. Lovely comment which is just how I would want this poem to express this burgeoning month – many thanks Peter

    1. And the rotting warmth of those fall leaves with their fiery colours – many thanks

    1. Thank you Beth – And you the gardener stirring for the seasons ahead – hope this prompts!

    1. just a touch pre-emptive for the vernal equinox but hope is the outcome of opposites in opposition methinks

  17. A beautiful cadence to your poem as I read it read aloud. I especially love “an insurgent swift as leaping flames roots rally in the rot of litterfall”.

    1. thank you for your very nice comment Mish – I like ‘cadence’ very much – I tend to write the poem first and polish it by reading it aloud adjusting the sounds whilst hanging on to some sense of sense!

    1. hope you have a fire to keep warm by – winter making a cursory return to the stage this weekend, like a pantomime villain

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