Thursday, September 14, 2006

In The Air

Winter in Georgia is
three calendar pages away.
The night air is starting to cool,
and my taste buds
are requesting hot cocoa and marshmallows.
Stacks of firewood,
like gapped-teeth school kids,
stand along the roadside waiting to be picked up.
Geese are flying in migratory formation;
they don’t leave anymore, but
they still feel something stirring their blood.

14 comments:

Margie said...

I like this poem a lot Pat!

Hot cocoa and marshmallows sounds
good to me!

Masago said...

Beautiful, I love it. Our birds are starting to get ready to leave too (I assume some to where you guys are).

Joyce said...

Do you really have winter in Georgia? The change of seasons must be universal and you catch it very well.

floots said...

loved the firewood
but
especially the geese
i guess some do hang around
but
still have itchy
(albeit webbed) feet

i remember frankie lane - my heart goes where the wild goose goes

cheers

J.B. Rowell said...

I agree about the "gapped-teeth school kids" - doesn't seem to belong - love the rest! The ending is lovely. Tonight, we are having chili - since I feel the same change in the air.

Russell Ragsdale said...

You touched it right in the heart, Pat! Something stirring in the blood!

steve said...

had me reaching for my jacket!

A cool breeze coming through the open window this evening, sound of kids talking through homework on the phone - and this very pleasant poem - thanks Pat!

C... said...

Christmas and fall all in one poem. It seems so comforting but the freeze in January is not.

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

Nice -- we were talking tonight about going to Savannah in November for a cousin's wedding. Who knows?

Amalendu said...

lovely...

The Site Administrator said...

ah winter ... i knew it well. please think of me suffering here down under, pat -- only 12 weeks of my long service leave left (after 17 weeks already), summer just around the corner, and the Indian Ocean only 200 metres from my back door. ;-)

Natalia L. Rudychev said...

I love it and the last lines are just wonderful.

"Geese are flying in migratory formation;
they don’t leave anymore, but
they still feel something stirring their blood."

Don't we humans feel the same?

Pat Paulk said...

Margie, come on over and I'll serve you up some cocoa and marshmallows!! Thank you!!

Thanks Vaughn!! We have such a large population year round, they've become quite a nuisance.

Thanks Janet!!

We really do Joyce. We have all the Winter I want. Thank you!!

Thanks Floots!! I confess to bit of wild stirring myself.

Thanks Travis for coming by. Sorry about the awkwardness with the "school kid" line. I see stacks of firewood standing 3 to 4 feet tall on the side of the road and it makes me think of kids waiting to catch the bus. The gapped-teeth comes from the 2 to 3 inches between each layer of wood.

Thanks for coming by Minion!!

Julia, thanks!! Haven't gotten to chili yet, but it's coming.

Always, Russell, always!!

Thank you Steve!!

C, the freeze in January is definitely not!!

Thanks Andrew!! Come on to Georgia!! Ya'll will love Savannah.

Thanks Shyamalee!!

Karasu, with the brutal Summer we've had, I'm glad to see it go! 29 weeks of leave???? Wow!!

Yes ma'am Natalia we do!! Thank you!!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Great one Pat. That's the spirit mate.