January's Humor


"In my deepest January when grief 
and life sits on my heart stoning joy
I let my muse lead me to a smile" ~ S.C.

January, dressed in the couture 
of hand me downs made from 
rusty leaves and autumn’s echo,
dances her shadow down the sidewalk
not caring if tomorrow the sun finds her naked.

While humans moan of summer’s loss,
January relishes the cold caress of winter. 

There are no demands for shade 
or knives pruning the fragile green
of freckled stems nursing on her limbs.

On the short days of light she is a 
gallery for red cardinals, the sassy
blue of the jay, and the obsidian sheen
of a crow cawing its decree it owns the forest.

Relishing she arrives first every new year
January jokes with the wind, “Soon the
Season of Resolutions will light its candle
and humans will snuff it within a week. 

©Susie Clevenger 2025



Comments

  1. FireblossomJanuary 31, 2025 at 3:23 PM

    My resolution was.... oh wait, I did not make any! Therefore, I did not break any! Go, me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sherry Blue SkyJanuary 31, 2025 at 4:08 PM

    I love this so much - the pitch-perfect tone, the colour of the birds, the crow owning the forest. I especially love your quote at the top. They can try, but they will not break us down!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sumana RoyJanuary 31, 2025 at 9:41 PM

    How cheerful the January looks in the poem! She does carry on with power and grace. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MaryFebruary 2, 2025 at 2:55 PM

    You have given such a positive picture of January, Susie. I love it. Some of your. wording is really inspiring.....like this:

    January, dressed in the couture
    of hand me downs made from
    rusty leaves and autumn’s echo,
    dances her shadow down the side

    I love your creativity! And enjoyed the positive picture of January, in such a year as this!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kim M. RussellFebruary 5, 2025 at 1:49 AM

    I love your personification of January, Susie, and you’ve made me feel differently about her, ‘dressed in the couture of hand me downs made from rusty leaves and autumn’s echo’, and her carefree dancing her ‘shadow down the sidewalk not caring if tomorrow the sun finds her naked’. I also love the splash of colour in the ‘gallery for red cardinals, the sassy blue of the jay, and the obsidian sheen of a crow’.

    ReplyDelete
  6. rallentandaFebruary 5, 2025 at 5:49 AM

    Beautifully written poem...lovely images with a smidgin of humour. Enjoyed it. Well done !

    ReplyDelete

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