hard frost

hard frost

Marianne Jones

takes out garden’s last colour
turns vines stems
arthritic brittle
coats hills and bushes
with a white ethereal glow of ghosts
or angels
I do not cheer winter’s onset
the sap in me is drying
my resilience to storms diminishing
I mourn the limberness of my youth
the abundance of time
the careless luxury of beauty
yet as I approach that city clothed in stars
its music grows clearer and sweeter than what I’ve known

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Marianne Jones
Poet & Author

Marianne lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and was named Christian Poet Laureate 2012 by Utmost Christian Writers. Her poetry collection Here, on the Ground was a winner at the 2011 Word Awards. Her literary novel, Maud and Me was published in 2021 by Crossfield Publishing.

Photography by Wes Hicks