Tall, lean, feline, black eyed Winter is aprowl
high-shouldered, haughty, she
swirls through branches that strain to catch her
bleaches an expansive sky
watches for lonely bones
This night a god will sing in the storm
lay her glitter cloak over all
reveal a power and deadly glory
to make you question your beliefs
as she slithers under doors to embrace you
gnaws your bones with cold
takes you
Copyright © 2022 Kim Whysall-Hammond
‘Winter God’ was first published in March 2022 by Milk and Cake Press in the Dead of Winter 2 anthology
Posted for Earthweals weekly challenge. OK , so a bit of a cheat, but we are predicted temperatures of -10C (14F) here in England – I fear that the Winter god is taking up residence.
The Cheesesellers Wife 
Love the closing line, especially!
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Thank you Rajani!
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Great poem. She’s swung by here too. Snowing! ❄️
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Just what we term “Bloody Cold” here!
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This is spectacular! Winter with her merciless cold fingers. Wonderful.
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Thank you Sherry. Sadly,Winter cold will kill many Europeans this year.
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Gnawing the bones with cold….no thanks ! Sounds too much like chemo therapy.
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Yes indeed
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a powerful piece, Kim: I felt the chill and the terror —
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Thank you John
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Winter madness is a Cailleach deified, omnipotent in her depth of cold dark. Such a wild phrasing of it here! (Luckily? in Florida we’re in the 3d year of a La Niña which pushes dry warm air our way; ever damn day its warmish and coolish without rain.)
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In a past career, I published research on La Niña!
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I’ve heard that 2022 will break annual temperature records despite La Niña … I wonder how these oscillations are changing (like the 3d year straight of Nina) under the influence of a hotter climate. We’ve had the same friggen day for weeks thx to La Niña.
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Our data showed a three year El Niño in the 1940s, implying that the cooling and heating events are very variable. However overall atmospheric warming will favour repeated La Niña events.
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I sometimes think of earthweal as a La Niña event. We’ve been around as long as the current one.
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This enters me like a shiver, like the winter wind. (K)
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That was what I was trying to achieve! 😊
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That was what I wanted to do! ☺️
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