ode to the shortest month

february, oh february

it seems your time has come 

again

you, the shortest of months

and yet the longest

your cold days dragging on and on

and on

keeping me buried in darkness

longing for spring

february, 

the sweetest of months

and also the cruelest

i find it nearly impossible

to remember in your midst

that soon enough i will find green shoots 

peeking out of the frozen earth

buds on the trees

lingering light at dinner time

february, 

i want to love you

really, i do

i want to love the careless way

you carry me to the threshold of spring

the way that you stop short

at twenty eight

as though you know

that i can't take another day

oh february,

i promise to try again this year

to appreciate you

deeply 

each day

(there are only twenty eight

after all)

to enjoy your icy-coldness 

to love your darkness

to embrace your pink flowers

and your conversation hearts

(i promise to try

but won't you work with me?

a few more of these fifty degree days

would be so nice

a gesture of friendship)

i suppose

if we try - if we both try

that we'll find a way,

we only have  twenty seven 

more days together

after all.

Comments

[shari]

i have always liked february, but that of course was in the south. i hear march is going to be the difficult month for me in vt. xo

[Tracy]

So sweet. Just like those candy hearts.

I'm glad you're starting more paperwhites! You're hurricane must be smaller than mine, because your bulbs look huge!

[Alicia A.]

you are awesome.

[Grace]

I finally realized, last year, that for me, it's March. When last year, you hosted green week, and everyone else's photos were showing bits of green poking up out of the earth, and it was still barren and frozen here. At our altitude, spring comes a month later than at lower altitudes on this continent. So, you will all be delighting in the early miracles of spring and I will just be hitting the wall of wintertime funk in about one month. For now, I will just admit to enjoying February and still enjoying the "novelty" of winter. ;)

[heather smith jones]

what a creative way to embrace this month & view it in a special way. february is a month that i've never quite grasped. i should work on that.

[erin]

february will go by fast.and good things happen in march.

[leslie]

that is SO so wonderful, emily!!

[rachel]

This is EXACTLY how I feel right now em. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[beth]

my thoughts exactly...with maybe a few more angry words added since I'm in wisconsin !

[cloth.paper.string]

you're fantastic, emily!i love this.

[molly]

you are good.

how was today?? can't wait for a report.

[julia]

oh you know how i feel! i'm making a serious effort to post things that are making me happy these days. just to keep the focus on the happy part of february :)

[tammy bruce]

Maybe sometime in the future you could try a feb in the southern hemisphere! New Zealands at her best in feb!

[Ellen]

Lovely ode! Come for a visit to brighten your February...I'm trying to spread the word about a fabric giveaway!

[melissa]

lovely poem! i'm trying to be positive about february too. i love your bulbs... they give me an idea...

[heather]

oh emily. you make me smile. :)

i love all the painting bits you've been sharing lately, thank you.

[amisha]

it ended up being a good one, didn't it? and i'm glad i got to spend a little bit of it with you. :)xo