Straight Line Winds Poem by Christine A Kysely

Incessant straight line winds, assail us from the East
And as all good sailors know, are good for neither Man nor Beast
The winds that are visiting us, like unwanted visitors from afar
Stay with us, both day and night, their unwelcome presence never hidden.

It has one wishing for them to leave. wishing upon Winter's Northern star.
Under forty below, that's what the instruments say
I can feel the temperature dropp as on cue by the hour
All panes of glass are well chilled from where I stand
They appear as December's foggy skies, as though from an icy shower.

The power lines outside dance and howl and sway
Crackling as the ice along them shatters in dismay
The shelter struggles to grip them ever tighter still
The house stands firm to keep the winds at bay
Shutters chatter as the winds struggle to them undress.

The raging straight line winds go on and on
A kitchen woodstove holds a crackling relief
To wage its wintery battle with the season
Its ongoing struggle to give off more heat
Than the wintery cold drafts that the winds force in.

And late in the evening I put my head down to rest
On one of my grandmother's quilts, one of her best
I can hear the winds still howling, as wolves to the moon
As I drift toward my dreamland, my wish is for Spring to come soon.

(December 12, 2010 Wausau, Wisconsin USA)

(c) Copyright 2010 by Christine A Kysely, All Rights Reserved