Poetryaction for Blizzard

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)

Well, we’re going from fire to ice. Yesterday, I shared an image for 15 Words or Less that some of you wondered what it was. I thought it resembled frozen flames, and y’all saw fire, ice, hearts, hands, and more in it. For those of you who asked, here’s what it actually is:

horse_ornament
Photo: Laura P. Salas

It’s one of my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree–a small glass horse. I love how the tail and mane are frosted, and how it sparkles and glows when the lights on the tree shine through it. Anyway, that’s what it was. I like it when I can stump you guys every so often!

And now, to the ice. I’ve been sharing poetryactions all week, and I’m wrapping up with seasonal one. Well, the book Blizzard is seasonal, even though my poetryaction to it isn’t really tied to snow!

prxn_Blizzard

I love blizzards! Yes, they are a pain. Yes, they disrupt our schedule. And I don’t want anyone hurt in them. But they are such a reminder of how little control we have over things like weather, and they’re so beautiful…We have just brown earth and trees right now with no snow on the ground. It poured yesterday. In December. In Minnesota! That’s just not right.

Back to the book. My brain went to a metaphoric blizzard. This book made me think about how sometimes when I’m stressed out and under a lot of deadlines, or when things are just crazy busy at home, I’ll lie down to go to sleep, but I can’t. Instead, things on my to-do lists, or worries about what might happen if I can’t get everything done, start to fly through my brain! So that’s what I wrote about–the millions of thoughts flying around my head when I try to sleep.

[Please check out my Pinterest boards of poetryactions and bookalikes if you’d like to see more. I’m building up a collection there!]

The thoughtful Tara Smith, over at A Teaching Life, has the Poetry Friday Roundup today. It’s bound to be a blizzard of wonderful poetry!

 

16 Responses

  1. December is the month of mind blizzards. Making a list. Checking it twice. And so on. I hope I can trudge my way through and still have a smile on.

  2. I do love that book, & to connect to the mind at this time of year is perfect, Laura. It’s been a while since we’ve had a blizzard, but what I remember was such fun. I made all kinds of things in our yard, was off work for a week! I do think of those who have to be out in it, not fun for them. But for the rest of us, okay! Thanks for sharing that picture of the lovely ornament. I never would have guessed it.

  3. We had lots of blizzards where I grew up in Saskatchewan. I loved them if everyone was home. Not so much if anyone was away. As a metaphor, a mind blizzard makes me think of driving through a snow one… disorienting.

    1. The one time I drove through a true blizzard (for a couple of hours) was one of the scariest times of my life. I agree–I love a blizzard when everyone is home and safe and cozy:>)

  4. A “mind blizzard.” Forecast says 100% chance for me to experience this in the next week! Maybe multiple times!

    1. For once, the meteorologist would be correct! (Forecasting snow here in Minnesota seems to be an especially haphazard science.)

  5. Your title is very fitting!
    Do you suppose we could pile up mind blizzard thoughts to make snowmen or lie in them to make snow angels?

  6. What we need next is a book-poem partnership to calm the mind blizzard! I visited your poetryactions Pinterest board and found your lovely poem “The Path.” It goes perfectly with the book Wherever You Go, which was our gift to our graduating grandchild last June

    1. Thanks, Joyce–yes, calming the mind blizzard would be nice, wouldn’t it? Wherever You Go isn’t the general kind of book I usually like (rhyming picture books in children’s form but really meant for adults), but I think this one is just so charming! I’m glad you enjoyed my poetryaction to it:>)

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