This old house has grown mellow,
Adapts itself to the winter weather
By the virtue of little resistance:
Letting in some persistent wind,
Giving up, with unconvincing reluctance,
Some inside heat and light.
Outside the snowflakes dally now –
A carefree afternoon's work (or was it play?)
And into the evening –
Enough is enough,
Five inches on the ground already
Where the wind hasn't played
Give and take, and made
Of the backyard a lake
With waves held still at one below;
There's always tomorrow
To adjust today's work if there's
Been a mistake of what
And how much should go where.
The wine I sip by the fireplace
I toast to you
Sunlight
In a frozen glass bubble.
And the delicate white crunch
I hear on the outside steps
I'll investigate tomorrow. Unless
I hear what I heard before ...
The three short raps
Of the wind playing again
With the shutter.
Feb 5
Feb 5, 2026 at 1:53 PM UTC
This old house has grown mellow,
Adapts itself to the winter weather
By the virtue of little resistance:
Letting in some persistent wind,
Giving up, with unconvincing reluctance,
Some inside heat and light.
Outside the snowflakes dally now –
A carefree afternoon's work (or was it play?)
And into the evening –
Enough is enough,
Five inches on the ground already
Where the wind hasn't played
Give and take, and made
Of the backyard a lake
With waves held still at one below;
There's always tomorrow
To adjust today's work if there's
Been a mistake of what
And how much should go where.
The wine I sip by the fireplace
I toast to you
Sunlight
In a frozen glass bubble.
And the delicate white crunch
I hear on the outside steps
I'll investigate tomorrow. Unless
I hear what I heard before ...
The three short raps
Of the wind playing again
With the shutter.