In the Cold of December

In the cold days of December, when snow blankets the trees and clouds cover the sun

I sit beside to the old wooden fence that separates our houses and peer through the hole in the middle

Picturing your emerald eyes

Seeing the world through a hole is easier than glimpsing the light at the end

And if I squint hard enough I can see your smile

 

On clear nights when the moon is gone I stand in the center of the street

And bask in the naked cold

It reminds me of the day you left. When you whispered in my ear the story of my life

You will dance on the stage of the moonless nights

And run from the spotlight of dull-eyed stars

Trying and failing to block their bleary gaze

 

On the days when the cool rain falls and clouds blanket the sun, I sit inside

And watch as the mountaintops tickle the sobbing sky.

In the cold of December I dream of far-off springtime, when the quilt of clouds retreats and a nascent light chases away the rain

It reminds me of the green of your eyes

The only green in December.

Comments & reviews · 2
Note: You are not logged in, but you can still leave a comment or review. Before it shows up, a moderator will need to approve your comment (this is only a safeguard against spambots). Leave your email if you would like to be notified when your message is approved.

User avatar
penfeme
Review
penfeme wrote a review · Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:06 am

Hi there,
I really love this! I love the parallels and imagery. You really captured the emotion of missing someone well. My favorite line is definitely, "The only green in December."
I happened to glance at the end first and honestly, it made me excited to read the whole thing!
As for constructive criticism, you're missing a lot of punctuation. I don't know if that was intentional, but punctuation often enhances a poem's clarity and structure. That being said, your poem still flows rather well, I just think it would be easier to read with punctuation.
For example, in the line, "On clear nights when the moon is gone I stand in the center of the street," perhaps you could add a comma: "On clear nights when the moon is gone, I stand in the center of the street." I think it reads better with the comma, without it the words sort of mesh together, at least for me. However, like I said, I really love this piece. Excellent job!

User avatar
Questio
Review
Questio wrote a review · Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:14 pm

Hello! Its your friendly neighborhood Questio here to review!
Lets get started:

I'd like to start by saying that I think this is a that would be better told as a short story. You could give background and build a relationship between reader and narrator/MC more than you generally can in poetry.
That said, I will leave that for you to ponder and actually start reviewing it as a poem.
You need to shorten your lines. Break them up. I get that you want to keep all your thoughts together, but you can do that with stanzas. Realize, that when you read poetry, you don't stop at the end of a line unless the author tells you to with a period or comma.
For example, your opening line instead of being one big scary non-poetic sentence that belongs in a short story, it could look like...

"In the cold days of December,
when the snow blankets the trees
and clouds cover the sun"

You do this to a degree, but you need to do it more. Otherwise it is hard to read.
Another thing is that you only have punctuation in the middle of lines and the very very end of the poem. If you do that, I try to read it all as one big long thought, and that gets not only tiring, but intimidating to me as a reader. End your thoughts. Give transition.
The last two lines are perfect examples of what I'm trying to say. Write your whole poem like those two last lines.
Your imagery is great, and the connection you have to the narrator is evident. However, I the reader don't feel it, and that is the whole point.
Think about what I've said. This is a good idea but needs some revision.
Message me with any questions.
~Q

oh. Well now that I look at it, this wasn't formatted correctly. Thanks so much for the feedback, ill definitely look into this



Poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just don't get - and never would get.
— Benjamin Alire Saenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe