Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com


                             Colin Cloute on the First of January

                     And now is come thy wynters stormy state,
                     Thy mantle mard, wherein thou maskedst late

          -Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender, “Januarye,” 23-25

The calendar year is advertised as new
But the slanting, yellowing sun is old
Almost weepy-eyed, exhausted, and weak
Beyond the icy cirrhus clouds of dusk

In a few weeks I will turn over the garden soil
A mediaeval ploughman with his electric tiller
Following the ancient seasons of the English year
Anticipating Lent and Eastertide

For now, the fireside and a comforting page
And a cuppa for warming the bones of age