Winter Drab
Nearly all of the trees were bare now.
Just days ago, the world was alive with the vibrant hues of mid-Autumn. The sun set every branch aflame with its golden touch and the red, orange, yellow exploded everywhere.
But now the trees stood naked before the glaring eye of winter chill, their branches stripped by last night’s cold, cruel wind. Those few that remained leaf-clad wore winter drab, just a few brown straggling threads clinging stubbornly, crying, “we won’t go!”
“It’s probably an omen,” she observed.
They had argued this morning. Again. And there was the argument last night.
“I hate listening to you argue.” The words rang painfully.
The rest of the drive looked much the same…brown after brown after brown and then gray. She wanted just one more fiery orange, just one more red. None. She turned to go inside, away from the drab slicing wind.
The sun polished the leaves of the holly bush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love this? Share the love and tell someone!
32 Comments
Comments are closed.
I’m sorry for the winter drab you are experiencing. I hope it passes soon. Hugs.
Ha! Thanks, Tinne, but I don’t actually have them…that was a bit of fiction for Josie’s Two Shoes Tuesday! I’m glad it was so effective, though! 😀
And I’ll take hugs anyway!
So having read this I KNOW you can guest bard…..just checking in again to see if you want to…this was downright poetic!
Yes, sure. I’d love to! This was all Josie’s doing – I humped in on her Two Shoes Tuesday this week. Finally.
OK, no…there was no humping. I JUMPED in on Josie’s link-up. *smacks forehead*
hahhahahaha! So when would you like to guest bard? We usually reserve fridays for that… Do you need some time I suspect?
drop me an email!?
Doing it right now.
Hmm…yes, I think blasting something out by Friday would be pretty short notice. Give me at least till next Friday…or beyond…
Love it. It makes me want to read more.
Thanks, Eli. Well, you know…leave them wanting more.
Only mankind would see such a life preserving defense as sadness. Shedding the leaves means the tree will retain its strength and resources to last the winter out but our forebears sentiment reflected their own battle to come to somehow last out to spring! Great pictures!
You know, that’s a really great thought. I always see winter that way – it’s a rest, a regeneration. It’s a necessary part of the natural cycle of things. It’s so easy to hate the dark and the cold, but at the same time, a long winter’s nap is a lovely thing!
Welcome. Glad you “humped” in, er. “jumped in. 😉 I love the poetic tone. I also want to read more.
Thanks, Mary! It felt kind of poetic in the writing – I couldn’t help but feel a particular cadence.
Some truly beautiful language here. Leaves me wanting more!
Thanks, Sarah! I’ve been threatening to link up with Josie so long – I think I did one a while ago – but I never quite make it in. I am glad this one came together.
I like the line, “crying, “we won’t go!”” Glad you ‘jumped in’ here also, Lisa. The end for me was like waking out of a dream, reality saying “we quarreled nastily last night and it’s all you.”
..
That’s an interesting take, Jim. Regardless of what I might have been thinking in the writing or if there was any intent, the beauty of prompts like these is that the reader can bring so much of themselves to it and take away something completely different. It can really be a combination of writer and reader in the experience.
Excellent TST, and so worth waiting for, Lisa! 🙂 I could well relate from past life experiences to this woman’s dreariness and the impending winter that matched her gloom. “I hate listening to you argue” tore at my heart. I heard my parents argue late in the night as a child, and my own children undoubtedly heard that too, which is why I chose to take them away from that. I didn’t want them to believe that all life and relationships must be cold, gray and angry. Thank you for a very thoughtful post, with lovely photos!
Whoopdedoo! Thanks, Josie! As always, I am so sad that you have that in your past. But all things we live through make us who we are today, right? This really came together from several different places and I’m pretty happy with the result. So glad I made it in this time!
Lisa. I was so glad to see you in the link up. The writing is beautiful. The description of winter pretty much sums it up for me. Love the illustrations. I picture Mother and Daughter riding in the car, each with her own thoughts, feelings and pain. I want to read more about them!
Thanks, Val! I keep trying to make it in to Josie’s linkup and always manage to miss it. Two separate people with their own thoughts, mixing together…a different spin but a great one! Perhaps it’s just vague enough to allow for that…
Everything is white, here. At least until it melts…
Oh, boy…I’m not ready for white yet. We had a bit a few days ago, but it’s gone. Stay warm there!
I like this. I like the reflective depth of it. I have been there, and will be again.
Thanks! Hard not to get reflective when pondering the passing of time, right?
Thanks for the images. I used to see things like that all the time in Minneapolis. The trees would change colors and it was so beautiful. I don’t get to see that as often in Houston. There’s never any snow or anything like that and the trees only slightly change. It’s rather disappointing.
And these are some pretty drab ones! I’ve grabbed some much more colorful ones – there is a beautiful orange one on my last TToT post.
Well done. It felt lyrical …just melancholy woven through and moving.
Thanks, May. I got a lot of response that said “lyrical” and “poetic” Since lyric poetry is to express the speaker’s innermost thoughts and feelings, I’m going to say this was a success. Of course, I didn’t structure it with the traditional heroic couplet, but I wasn’t really going for a poem, per se, so I’m OK with that!
[…] And if you haven’t read…do click over and do a little reading to see what you missed. Winter Drab Sacred Store The Spirit of Christmas I’m also thankful to have joined Eli over at Coach […]