winter reads
"Winter Sleep," Mary Oliver
Deep in that place,
among the roots
Of sumac, oak, and wintergreen,We would remember the freedoms of summer,And we would begin to breathe together --Hesitant as singers in the wings --A shy music,Oh, a very soft song.
While pines cracked in the snow above,
And seeds froze in the ground, and rivers carrieda dark roof in their many blue arms,We would sleep and dream.We would wake and tellHow we longed for spring.Smiles on our faces, limbs around each other,We would turn and turnUntil we heard our lips in unison singing
The family name.
If I could I would
Go down to winter with the drowsy she-bear,
Crawl with her under the hillside
And lie with her, cradled. Like two souls
In a patchwork bed --
Two old sisters familiar to each other
As cups in a cupboard --
We would burrow into the yellow leaves
To shut out the sounds of the winter wind.
Deep in that place,
among the roots
Of sumac, oak, and wintergreen,We would remember the freedoms of summer,And we would begin to breathe together --Hesitant as singers in the wings --A shy music,Oh, a very soft song.
While pines cracked in the snow above,
And seeds froze in the ground, and rivers carrieda dark roof in their many blue arms,We would sleep and dream.We would wake and tellHow we longed for spring.Smiles on our faces, limbs around each other,We would turn and turnUntil we heard our lips in unison singing
The family name.
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