Poet tree

This column by Tom Radzienda, an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University, aims to encourage your interest and develop your skill in creating poetry. Poetry is a combination of visualisation, observation, imagination and creative use of language. Discover your poetic side, too!

March 25, 2003

Playing with a poem in winter

Snow may seem like a very strange, foreign experience to many people living in Thailand. Similarly, snow can be a strange and magical experience for a child. One problem with getting older is that we sometimes lose appreciation for things like snow. Adults often see natural weather as a problem to be avoided, rather than a joy to be experienced. Poetry aims to restore our natural interaction with the environment.

Elizabeth Jennings' Poem in Winter provides a thoughtful observation of the way children and adults perceive winter. In the end, choose for yourself whether you prefer the children or adults’ perspective.

Poem in Winter

Rhyme

1

Today the children begin to hope for snow

A

2

And look in the sky for auguries of it

B

3

It is not for such omens that we wait,

B

4

Our world may not be settled by the slow

A

5

Falling of flakes to lie across our thoughts

B

6

And even if the snow comes down indeed

C

7

We still shall stand behind a pane of glass

D

8

Untouched by it, and watch the children press

D

9

Their image on the drifts the snow has laid

C

10

Upon a winter they think they have made

C

11

This is a wise illusion. Better to

E

12

Believe the near world is created by

F

13

A wish, a shaping hand, a certain eye,

F

14

Than hide in the mind’s corner as we do

E

15

As though there were no world, no fall of snow

A

First stanza: setting the scene

Jennings creates an image of young children hoping for snow. Imagine the children standing by the kitchen window, watching carefully for "auguries" of snow, almost like they expect a religious sign that the first snowflake is about to fall. Picture the suspense in their faces, and see how greatly they want to go outside and play. These images prepare the reader’s sensory imagination for the poetic insights that follow.

Lines 3 and 4 turn to the adults’ point of view. The adults are not waiting for "omens" of snow. More likely, they are worrying about their jobs, paying bills, fixing the car, etc. These details are not directly told, but we can guess what they are thinking. Jennings implies that adults do not wait patiently for problems to be settled.

Line 5 is a metaphor that compares the movement of snow in the sky with the movement of thoughts in our minds. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that each of your thoughts is a flake of snow floating across your mind. Let the image of the poem develop in your imagination.
Second stanza: contrast

Jennings portrays vital details to demonstrate the different views between adults and children. Lines 6 and 7 develop the adult perspective, remaining inside the house. They stand behind a pane of glass, protected and untouched by nature. Imagine mother sipping a hot cup of coffee, a warm fire burning in the fire place, avoiding the genuine power of the snow outside.

Observe the children playing joyfully in lines 8 and 9. The children are fully absorbed in snowplay. Use your imagination to create an image of several children, colourfully dressed with hats, mittens, snowboots, etc. Close your eyes and picture the vivid colours of their winter clothing in contrast to the bright white snow. Concentrate on feeling the coldness on your skin and the wind on your face.

Return to the literal poem and see the kids laying down on the soft, fluffy snow. They spread their arms and legs widely, creating an outline of their bodies on the snow. Try this activity in the snow, or next time you go to the beach, and physically experience the creative play of children.

Line 10 presents an interesting insight. Do the children believe they have created the snow, the winter, and thus the world, by themselves? These children naturally interact with their environment. They have not suffered the separation and alienation of "growing up" into an adult who stays inside the house all day.
Third stanza: insight

"Wise illusion" is a paradox that shows the wisdom of children to enjoy the snow, even if it is an illusion that they are in control of it. The children discover the world through their own senses of touch, sight and smell. The children are empowered to imagine that their wishes, hands and eyes are able to create a better world.

The final two lines of the poem explore the thoughts of adults, who are criticised for hiding in the mind’s corner (line 14). This metaphor emphasises the parents standing inside, behind a pane of glass ( line 7). By staying inside, parents are separated from the real world and avoid or deny snow falling upon their lives. The symbolic meaning of snow is now fully revealed. It’s not just snow that the children enjoy, but the joy of life that the children gaily accept with open arms, rather than shun or ignore. The children embrace the snow, while the adults seek artificial comfort inside their homes.
Read again, read aloud

Go back and read the poem again. Be aware of the literal images painted by Jennings, plus the symbolic meaning of the snow in the children’s world. Fully imagine your own sense of touch and temperature as you read. To appreciate the rhyming sounds, read the poem aloud. Many lines end with alliteration of consonants rather than perfect rhyme, as indicated by the highlighted sounds in the poem.

You can send your poem by email. Mark the subject line: Poet Tree and send to this address: learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th

Visit Tom's poetry column at http://www.bangkokpost.com/poetry

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