.

Winter into Spring Sonnet

The garbage dump outside the town is white
as winter’s snowfall claims the castoff chair
from autumn’s cluttered leavings, hid from sight
in drifts, the broken dinette set left there
for rats to nest below, before degrees
had dropped too low to stay when there is more
of hope in cellars’ possibilities
with windows left ajar on seasons’ stores.
The dump, remaining pure until the spring,
is suited as a picture to be framed
in a white smock that shapes a lying thing,
a butcher’s morning apron still unclaimed
by the day’s blood, that necessary mess,
the sustenance with which the world does bless.

.

.

Recently retired, Jedediah Smith taught literature at the City College of San Francisco and lives now in Concord, CA. More of his work can be read at jedediahsmith.net and in publications including Reed Magazine, Midwest Quarterly, and Flash Fiction Magazine.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


Trending now:

2 Responses

  1. Paul A. Freeman

    What vivid picture you build up, Jedediah! I particularly liked the phrase ‘autumn’s cluttered leavings’, with the double meaning on the word ‘leavings’, and the butcher’s apron image.

    Thanks for the read.

    Reply
  2. C.B. Anderson

    Though diffuse, syntactically muddled and obscure, it was a fun read.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.