Friday, December 05, 2014

Poetry Friday - Winter Nights

Mother nature hasn't decided what the weather will be, with 70 degree days followed by 40 degree days. I'm enjoying advent and the slow approach of winter. Here's an old poem (late 16th to early 17th century) for the season.

Winter Nights
by Thomas Campion

Now winter nights enlarge
      The number of their hours,
    And clouds their storms discharge
      Upon the airy towers.
    Let now the chimneys blaze        
      And cups o'erflow with wine;
    Let well-tuned words amaze
      With harmony divine.
    Now yellow waxen lights
      Shall wait on honey love,
While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights
      Sleep's leaden spells remove.

    This time doth well dispense
      With lovers' long discourse;
    Much speech hath some defence,
      Though beauty no remorse.
    All do not all things well;
      Some measures comely tread,
    Some knotted riddles tell,
      Some poems smoothly read.
    The summer hath his joys,
      And winter his delights;
Though love and all his pleasures are but toys,
      They shorten tedious nights.


I do hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Anastasia Suen at Booktalking #kidlit. Happy poetry Friday friends!

7 comments:

  1. "Let well-tuned words amaze/ With harmony divine." -- nicely said! Glad you are enjoying this time of the season. Thanks for sharing this.

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  2. Ending resonated with me: And winter his delights;
    Though love and all his pleasures are but toys,
    They shorten tedious nights.
    Glad that you are enjoying Advent. Holly Mueller has invited us to blog about Advent. My offering is called The Season for Listening with a haiku I created (http://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-season-for-listening.html).

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  3. Lovely to read and re-read, Tricia: "Some knotted riddles tell,
    Some poems smoothly read." We have had some of that same, nice & record-breaking highs and lows-interesting.

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  4. Yes, the winter nights are enlarging "the number of their hours." I feel that darkness closing in, but I'm holding in my heart the hope of Solstice and the return of light!

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  5. Keen for words about words, I alight on:
    "Let well-tuned words amaze
    With harmony divine. "
    But also, as one of the all who do not do all things well, I smiled.

    Appreciations to you.

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  6. Lovely.

    I have a poem on my FB page for Poetry Friday. Even though it's Saturday.

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  7. Hello hello Tricia--

    So great to spend some time with you in DC! I didn't know this poem, which is so perfectly suited to my family's Yuletide observance, which begins on the Solstice. Thank you very much, especially for these lines, which remind us not to overdo in our attempts to get everything done:
    All do not all things well;
    Some measures comely tread,
    Some knotted riddles tell,
    Some poems smoothly read.
    The summer hath his joys,
    And winter his delights;

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