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Ode to a Cold night
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Ode to a Cold Night
by Philip E. Hyatt
(10DEC72)
The music from the box has stopped
the light has gone past dim,
the darkness pulls his chair up close
the cold now settles in.
I heard it first this afternoon
while walking down the road.
It’s hands of wind whipped past my coat
and dropped their heavy load.
The sun
it fell.
It’s cold
oh well.
And as the evening lights approach
the wall throws forth its heat,
but hating heat I turn it off
the cold I will defeat.
And so our fight has just begun
the night it is still new,
I’ll fight the cold with all my power
until the night is through.
See it?
Over there!
It’s coming
from everywhere!
I lay beneath my mound of warmth
as it beings attack,
it seeps then pours into the walls,
my body fights it back.
With silent hand it dares attempted
to try to penetrate.
I fight with it for every inch
let’s hope the sun’s not late.
Hear it?
Feel it!
It has you too,
fight back!
As hours pass it pushes in
I’ll fight it all the way.
Oh, hurry sun it’s getting late
I’m waiting for the day.
But still the sun has failed to show
I hear the silence of the snow,
the wind fight on against the pane
the cold in now becoming pain.
My mound of warmth is getting cold,
I know the night is getting old.
Ah ha!
Look,
the sun,
I see the sun!
I think we’ve won.
And as the air begins to warm
with the passing of the night
I thank the coldness as he leaves
we had a far out fight.
17 When I first wrote poetry and stories, I wanted them to stand alone. I’ve learned that telling a story means painting a picture. So, let me explain my poem briefly.
18 I use similes and metaphors in the poem, tools of poets. I know my Chinese friends might have difficulty understanding Ode to a Cold Night, both the poem and the book. So I explain more than I might otherwise. So, here are the comparisons that might not be obvious to them or in 200 years to my great great great great great grandchildren.
Wording Meaning .
The music from the box has stopped I turned off my music
The light has gone past dim The sun has gone down and I’ve turned
off the lights
The darkness Any human foe: fear, loneliness, insecurity
feeling unloved, isolation
pulls his chair up close The fear is palpable
I heard it first this afternoon Fear tends to haunt us, it approaches
slowly and later attacks us when we
are alone. In this case, I’d felt lonely
as I walked back to the dorm on a
very cold afternoon
hands of wind . . . dropped their heavy load The cold biting wind made me feel even
more lonely
the wall throws forth its heat The heater in the wall warms my dorm room
but hating heat I turn it off Not wanting comfort of others, I ignore
them
the cold I will defeat Sometimes we have to face our fears alone;
I was determined to face the world
unaided by others, if necessary
I’ll fight the cold with all my power I’m ready! Or as my Chinese friends would
tell each other 加油！
my mound of warmth My defense; my own efforts to survive
it seeps then pours in the walls I really did often turn off my heater in
college. I let heat from my friend’s
rooms seep into my room. It kept
the air in my room fresher.
Oh, hurry sun . . . waiting for the day This feeling comes from camping on cold
nights in frosty air with not enough
blankets. This also happened at
times as an adult, both literally and
figuratively. I had to wait for relief
I thank the coldness as he leaves What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
we had a far out fight. A hippie term, far out, means very
enjoyable, unique, and different
kind of
Chapter 1
Hot fun in the Summertime: the summer of 1970.
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Post comment Comment (2 replies)
- Reply asskicker
- Wauooo,How emotional! i love your poem
Very visual, I can see you,and moments you have...
- Reply snowflying
- great funny poem! by a little boy!
