Snowy Recess
Snowy Recess
…and I love it, a nook of quietude
In the snowy evening amidst the stars
My chilled breath weaves among the branches
and plots going upward, to the interlude
Of silence proffered, not screeching cars
Nor insolent watchers, no circumstances
Just me and the woods in this passive tale
A cabin of cedar with hearth and hale.
I say with a spot or two of herb spiced tea,
it calms the arctic chill in my hoary lungs
The snow keeps us home, and we love it, see—
Everything beautiful and bold to be
Comes alive, intermingling on frosty sums
The night is young, and we light the Christmas tree.
With sonorous glees then laughter that fills the room,
and hearth fires burn hot, with maple perfumes—
My soul burns smooth as distilled hope is consumed
In subtle hints of nutmegs and cinnamons
Where rum is the answer, unknown the question
With clinking ice pods I’m sure to be doomed
Tonight though, my freedom taunts my discipline
But alone here the quiet becomes my concession
No runners or punches, just rocks and a glass
How time is sluggish and the world comes to pass.
In one momentary lapse comes the azure sky,
A prelude again of wonderlands to come
How the sun attempts to melt the meringue knolls
And to justify existence, it edifies
The need for hot and cold to sooth the tongue,
To warm the lungs, a cup of cocoa for the soul,
My snifter washed then dried and lastly cached,
The time for libations has come and passed
With the sunrise in morning comes wanted stillness
Robins chirping as though they missed the migration
while the sun has impassioned their little bodies
the java replaced by chocolate is so guiltless
and I’d be amiss if I didn’t find that elation
as a panacea needing to be embodied
Like clockwork though the sun struggles anew
As the nimbus brothers in the sky renew.
The blanched militia army falls from the sky
Parachutes of ivory so largely distinct,
Yet persistently strident of their approach
Their patterns of chaos were of movements spry
And in the muted wilds, so hard to predict
Though, through frosted windows they still encroached
Their immersion now was inevitable
And though this soul shall not be swooned, it is able—
Darkened clouds swindle the stage from the sun
behind those clouds emerge these lucent darts
So ominous when they come to fight the trees
So lethal to us fleas like a spider web spun
their shards diaphanous; so quickly they depart
my heart ablaze from what my eyes can see
how treachery and beauty are synoptic
when both are lain close in the same panoptic.
Yet a fleeting glare from a lonely candle light,
In tapered clarity, it appears like diamonds
Are flooding the landscape in seditious waves
Overthrown, the ground endures, on this frost night
Each soldier scantily-clad in ashen silence
One goal in mind to plunge towards their earthly graves
Slaves of their patron mother, her name is nature,
She cares not the cause, nor who performs the labor.
In the pale recess, like a gossamer bed sheet
The creator smiles from a distance, his favor
Gained by nature, and I witness all of this
From the cabin steps, my cup again replete
With marshmallows and whole milk fusion to flavor,
Savoring the unruffled repose, this placid bliss,
Even the creaking underfoot cannot ruin
This rapture amidst the bad weather brewing
~
For more works like Snowy Recess, and other great topics, by this author, see Paul Neglia Author Page.
- Empty Monolith - June 28, 2020
- Stage Fright - June 1, 2020
- How the Monarchs Were Silenced - May 7, 2020







“… a nook of quietude.” Oh! how inviting – to just cuddle up with nature in a cozy cabin in the snow. Great work, Paul.
I need this right now, just a little space and some peace away from everyday life. Thank you for reading Phyllis, glad you enjoyed and agreed with it.
Jamie was working on a short story that expressed what I have dreamed of for a long time – to have a TCE writers retreat and talk about our writing, inspiration, help each other, etc. How fun would that be? All best wishes to you, Paul, for a blessed New Year with an abundance of love, happiness, and success in all your endeavors. Take care.
Paul by far one of the better poems I have read in awhile. Your imagery works miracles as if each stanza brings with it comfort and joy. I will return to read again and again. Thank you Paul. Jamie
Oh thank you so much for your kind words and praise. I’m glad you enjoyed this poem.
Nice work Paul, I love the silence of a winter day…
Me too my friend. I’m glad you enjoyed this.