Dust of Snow

By Robert Frost

“The way a crow/Shook down on me”

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Submitted by: Stacy Tartar Esch (email, web), who describes herself thus: “in addition to enjoying my family, my house, my pets, and my fucked-up teaching career, I've spent the past twenty odd years chasing words, sounds, and images in one form or another.”

Why this poem? “It's not nasty or grungy or angry or hard. It's not pop. It's not soft or spongy or sickly sweet. It's personal but not impenetrably so. It's simple, beautiful, and true. And I can think of at least three times in my life when something small and significant like this little instance of instant karma made a whale of a difference. Litotes...a salve for the quiet soul.”

Why this poem? “It's not nasty or grungy or angry or hard. It's not pop. It's not soft or spongy or sickly sweet. It's personal but not impenetrably so. It's simple, beautiful, and true. And I can think of at least three times in my life when something small and significant like this little instance of instant karma made a whale of a difference. Litotes...a salve for the quiet soul.”

Submitted by: Stacy Tartar Esch (email, web), who describes herself thus: “in addition to enjoying my family, my house, my pets, and my fucked-up teaching career, I've spent the past twenty odd years chasing words, sounds, and images in one form or another.”

Why this poem? “It's not nasty or grungy or angry or hard. It's not pop. It's not soft or spongy or sickly sweet. It's personal but not impenetrably so. It's simple, beautiful, and true. And I can think of at least three times in my life when something small and significant like this little instance of instant karma made a whale of a difference. Litotes...a salve for the quiet soul.”