Emily Zarevich is back with another series of poems to share on Burlington’s very own talent column, “Burlington’s Got Talent”. This time immersing us in the true chilling yet beautiful experience of Canadian winters.
Here’s a note from the poet herself: “What compares to a Canadian winter? We revel in the beauty of the snow, but shake with anxiety at all the dangers the weather presents. That is the Canadian experience, the love-hate relationship with the season that best defines us. My poems, I hope, reflect my own feelings towards the months of December, January, February, and sometimes March, where what’s going on outside decides everything you feel.”
Stay warm and enjoy this trio of poems!
Fallen
I’ve fallen. The ice is triumphant.
Cracking and crackling under swollen soles.
Perseverance holds, the lot of overburdened knees.
We’re hiking in the winter in this terrain most treacherous
and yet to abstain is preposterously miserly
when adventure is so easily sold
like the wares of the village witch
who cures derangements from her enervated cauldron.
A Reasonable Frozen Cold
Waist deep in snow. A reasonable frozen cold.
A stubborn will that frequents boot-made hollows.
This is the land on which Great-Grandpa planted.
A season of inflamed and swollen knuckles.
A poor child’s hand misses the mittens
abandoned in ditches
and a grownup woman, laughing, swallows
the sweet, crushed air she intimately knows.
Baffling those impatiently awaiting
the emergence of spring buds, unfolding.
Winter Fever
I have a head full of clay
as the storm hums on.
The snow escapes from troubled skies,
restless like a child who has
sat still for too long.
The cold is a furious bite.
Sugar white. The most crimson clay.
I can’t go outside.
Not today, tomorrow, yesterday.
The clay dries and goes hard. White lights blink.
The noise in my ears and my headache
(in perfect, perfect sync)
hum on.
I could leave footprints in the snow,
and run away, pajamas torn,
across the slippery sheets left behind by
the ice, the rain, the hail.
But I could also slip and break my back, my neck, and helplessly wail.
We hope you have enjoyed Emily’s series of poems. Be on the lookout for more local talent in our “Burlington’s Got Talent” column, where we will be featuring a multitude of talents and creative projects. If you are a local artist, storyteller, or have a unique talent you would like to share, please send an email to talent.localnews@gmail.com for an opportunity to be featured.
