Tuesday 5 February 2013

freedom speech for a dreich weekday

damp afternoon
daffodils snoozing
underground slumber
yet
poised for the push;
eyes go heavy,
adjust to the gloom,
boil some water,
remain in the room
and curtain the day
away.

peek at the road
as cars trip forward,
menisci remoulding
in puddles of potholes,
sloshing and slipping
their way up to Westwood,
reaching the care home,
where memories battle
to find their location,
get lost in the headland,
and gradually merge into
fog.

monday's return,
mid midwinter's reign,
means darkness holds sway
and chases your day;
but
winter's an empire
that's now on the wain,
as soil agitators
dream spring revolution
on steady strong stalks;
lift heavy heads high,
exhale deepest sigh,
and let your heart fly
i see sun in the sky
get ready
my children...

Note: According to the Urban Dictionary "dreich" is an Old Scots word meaning "A combination of dull, overcast, cold, drizzly, misty and miserable weather." At least four of these adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich. I enjoy using the word as it applies to Scottish weather quite regularly.

For pronunciation, drei rhymes with three, and for the -ch part, think about the guttural ending of loch.


posted on dverse open link night 82

16 comments:

  1. Thoroughly enjoyed this--and fully intend to use 'dreich' as many times as appropriate in the near future. :) I've been holding my breath for spring; we've six inches of snow and more on the way... *sigh* I appease my chilly soul with an endless train of bulbs that bloom on my dining room table. Right now, ivory hyacinths are drenching me in their marvelous aroma. Come, sweet spring!

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    1. We also had snow yesterday. Nice that you can have those bulbs indoors though. Agree about spring :)

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  2. ha..over here the spring revolution has not yet started...we got thick snow flakes today...love the snoozing daffodils...nice

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  3. A fantastic write ND. I really enjoyed this piece. I am so ready for 'spring revolution'. :-)

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  4. Winter is an empire indeed; but I do hope it is on the wain. You mentioned the gloom. I concur. I am so tired of lack of sun. I am waiting for that sun in the sky you mentioned. I have a feeling it will be quite a wait. We definitely are in the middle of 'dreich.' (Love the word.)

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  5. oh i am ready...smiles...love these line...winter's an empire
    that's now on the wain,...we are on the backside but i think we might be in for another swat yet...though i like how this plays out in the seasons of our lives as well....

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  6. We are in the midst of bitter winter...I can only hope for spring and sun to come very soon ~

    Thanks for the new word, it seems so apt for our weather lately ~

    Nice to see you at the Pub ~

    Grace

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  7. This is lovely ... I flowed with the words !!!

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  8. Oh how winter can bring out the poet. Here we have the sun and the sand and the island breeze to do this one. Good job loved it. http://gatelesspassage.com/2013/02/02/reflections/

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  9. The spring revolution will be starting for me soon, hopefully. Nice one.

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  10. thanks for the linguistic note... i definitely can appreciate the idea of "dreich"!

    very nice wordplay as well; crisp, vivid imagery. strong write!

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  11. I so adore this poem.......the memories seeking a location......the underground spring revolution............loved it!

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  12. hey not sure what is up but the comment box on your new post is not working...it is a wonderful continuation of the story...you are a marvelous writer...i feel for you characters...and i like how you set up the not feeling like home a couple paragraphs earlier it made the end all the more powerful...

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  13. Love this piece! The push from ground--the day above it--

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Thanks for leaving a comment. Have a great day :)

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