Photo credit: “Brown” by Robert Okaji
Thank you to editor Tom Zimmerman of The Big Windows Review for selecting “Winter Poem” for publication on The Big Windows’ website and in its upcoming print journal. I’m so pleased my poem has found such a lovely home.
SLHARPERPOETRY 
I could feel my heart pace increasing as I read this … what timing! … here in central Texas we have closed schools, almost zero traffic noise, freezing mist … and thankfully, POWER (thus far) to keep our distractions running!
Not that Matthew would be swayed, but I no longer miss the seasonless green of South Florida where I lived many years. Initially I delighted in the lack of winter, but once back to Texas I realized the power of seasonal change. A lot less taken for granted! I came “home” in 1986 – took a few years to stop missing Florida, to acclimate (again) to seasonal stimuli.
Great portrait of Winter – outdoors and indoors.
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Your engagement means the 🌎 to me, Jazz! I, too, appreciate the changes of the seasons, even if I avoid being outdoors in the cold, if I can help it… I think Matt has started to acclimate to the stark change that shocked him so when facing his first Indiana winter, but as the poem’s arc indicates, he’s found a way to embrace what *is* and make it his own. 🙏❄️💖
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Having moved from western New York to mid-Missouri, the first thing that struck me, aside from the damn summer heat, was the brown winters. Sure, the winter trees are bare in New York, and I might have complained about the snowfall, but a blanket of snow can lend an air of serenity to almost any view. Here, it’s bare trees and dead grass. (And, yes, bare sycamores lending their ghostly white skeletons to the scene.) Cedars are plentiful enough, but their dull green tending to brown (in midwinter) do little more than add a mute accent.
Online stargazing would be a welcome relief. I’m glad that Matthew has that.
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“Bare trees and dead grass”
Yes! You sound exactly like Matthew! Lol! The contrast between Oregon (west of the Cascades) and here in the winter is so stark…
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Congratulations on the publication of “Winter Poem”! Wasn’t this a poem you read last year for “Poets in the Blogosphere”? I remember your telling us that Matthew had asked for a brown poem.
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Yes! This is an updated version of that poem! Wow, you have a good memory. My poem ultimately wasn’t brown enough for Matthew, so Bob wrote him one based on his (Bob’s) above photo that passed muster…
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Yes, I remember!
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I loved reading this over and again, with a smile at each new layer of movement, and widening/narrowing of perspective, and oh, the clutch/release of parenthood. Beautiful work, Stephanie!
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I’m aglow in your sunbeams! 🙏☀️☺️💖
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