"That reservoir of frost and snow..." ~ Jane Eyre
Dust of Snow
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued
~ Robert Frost
If I could leap into a poem just as Alice leapt into a looking glass, it would be a poem by Robert Frost.
Air temperature here in New York is arctic, as it is in most places on the eastern seaboard. My building is rather dilapidated, so the heater in my classroom has been blowing out cold air. Needless to say, I am wearing earmuffs as I grade literary essays. Thankfully a colleague just came in with his Swiss Army Knife and adjusted the thermostat; its behind lock and key, thanks to the miserly administration, but he managed to get in and ensure that I don't become a popsicle this morning.
Still, I cannot express how happy I am that I saw snow yesterday. It has been the most stressful week - a week I have rued - but the snow falling in thick flakes yesterday calmed me so very much. I love blankets of snow because I love staying under my blankets in such weather, reading good novels and listening to Handel. I am on a Handel kick of late.
I love walking in snow after a storm when the sun shines brightly off of the snow, making it sparkle. The world is quiet, save a few churchbells I hear from a church close to my home, and a few children screaming as they stuff a carrot into a snowman's head to make a nose and wrap an old tattered scarf around his neck.
Yesterday's dust of snow makes me long for the serenity that I always find after a snowfall; something Frost captures so well in his poetry.
posted by ThursdayNext | 9:28 AM
17 Comments:
It snowed for like, 15 seconds here. I haven't seen snow in over 2 years. Damned global warming. I am secretly hoping for a blizzard when I am in CT so I can just stare at it. ;)
Oh I love that poem...like most Frost poems. Sigh...I miss snow, too. I am longing for at least one decent snowfall before the spring weather brings it's melliflous humidity back here to DC.
Enjoyed reading it. My attic room is cold, so I can relate to the 'colder' parts of your story without any difficulty!:)Thank you for sharing the calm and quietness...!:)
Thank you for introducing me to that poem. It's lovely. My favorite Frost poem is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I had and illustrated book of the poem when I was a kid and read it so much that I could recite the whole thing. Gosh I love books!
Anyway...I'm glad you got your snow. I agree whole-heartedly that there is nothing better than curling up under a blanket on a snowy day with a good book and a thick hot chocolate (with whipped cream of course!)
Seriously, this week sucked but seeing snow does make things a little better. Don't freeze. I have the heat on my office set so high and yet it seems like my office will not warm up and my toes will remain frozen.
Glad to find a nest of fellow snow fans. I doubt we'll get any more this year but it's just lovely to see it, particularly when it does that weird acoustic "muffling" thing so even before you've thrown open the curtains to the bright white landscape, you know it's snowed.
I love it, the crunch of it underfoot and the weird squeaky icy noise it makes when you ball it up (and the squeaky noise your intended target makes when the snowball you've just made goes down their back!)
Peej
x
Can I introduce you to my son? He lives in Brooklyn...
Marty ~ I do long for a blizzard so I can have a snow day, too! I will be grateful for the small things in life and just be glad I saw a few flakes this past week!
Ryane ~ Isnt Frost amazing? And I had no idea that he spent a good amount of time in Key West; I visited his cottage there!
Borut ~ I loved your haiku on snow! Bundle up!
WIP ~ I am more of a marshmallow girl myself, but I think tomorrow morning I will splurge and put whipped cream on my cocoa. :)
Kels ~ Ugh...I wish I had a heater in my room. My toes never warm up no matter how high the heat is on. My body never feels thawed until the end of April!
Peej ~ Your descriptions are divine; you are right - there is something special and lovely about the crunch of snow underneath one's foot. Snowballs, eh? I love a good snowball fight, complete with fort made out of snow to duck behind! ;)
Wizard ~ Why, welcome to Eyre Affairs! Your comment made me smile. As long as your son is not a doctor, musician, or Republican, I would possibly consider. ;)
I have never in my life seen "real" snow..( we have a place here with an ice skating rink with fake snow..)...
..please pick a handful and throw some my way..;)
(..and I am once again picking up an Eyre book in our local bookstore...reading here has once again inspired me to read her..)
Luxie...
ps: last night I dreamth of lions...)
My Dearest Luxie ~ How might I entice you to come to New York (or New England) during the winter months? Snow is magical at any age one sees it. I am delighted that you are re-reading Jane Eyre; my Victorian Lit professor at grad school had us re-read it with our minds "in the gutter" and I have decided that Rochester is one dirty man! :) Lions? Mmm. Asland is one of my favorite literary heroes.
OMG - talk about irony i JUST used this poem in my class - we are doing our poetry unit in my school
i have to agree that this is one of my favorite frost poems as it makes me chuckel evey time i read it
it is simple in its complexity, in that even my learning support kids got it ~ and how appropropriate the timing for both of us as the NE FINALLY got snow!
well, i thought i left a comment yesterday.. but perhaps not. i know i read this post at least...oh addled middled aged brain.
anywho...
i have one classroom that is especially cold. it's barely 60 degrees when i get there on the mornings i'm at that school. but i can and do crank the heat. another classroom has the thermostat behind lock and key, but i know how to get a scissor in there and mess with it ...lol
btw,
that is just a delightful and wonderful frost poem. i was not familiar with it.
Enjoy the beauty of a winter wonder world. No snow here, except for a few wet flakes that couldn't be bothered to stay on the pavement for more than a second...
We love the snow too :)
The kids make the most of it- as you saw with the little snow hobbit in our yard~
Of course- If we got tons of the stuff and had to spend a good deal of the winter trying to work our way through it- I'd enjoy less (I guess?)
Loved your poem at Percy's...I am 99% sure which one is yours :)
I'm glad someone likes snow. I can't stand it! This merely cements the fact that I will live in the south forever. I am seriously debating a move to the Caymans if my blogger friend posts one more picture of his "secret beach."
Though you make it sound like a dream come true, Amy.
And, I'm really glad that someone fixed your heater! Eeek!
I do love Frost-- he was my mom's favorite. It really does make everything better. I came home last night to a dusting and it was just so pretty!
we have an actual snowday today which made me think of you. i think we had all of 5 minutes worth of furios snowing.
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