I recently posted “In the Winter” which is probably my favourite poem to date. It is ironic considering that it is now 30 degrees C outside. The poem came to me in roughly five minutes of inspiration without much thought on my part. I must admit that I really cannot take credit for it – the words came to me almost automatically. It is for this reason that I can comment on the poem as if I were someone other than its author.

I strongly encourage everyone to read the poem first before reading on.

What strikes me about this poem are its many metaphors about the seasons, snow, the sun. But on a thorough re-reading of the poem I began to realize that the seasons are just symbols. It is not by accident that the season in question is Winter which I consider a very dreary time of the year (except for snowmobiling). Perhaps the winter is a rough patch each of us experiences in our lives? Perhaps the Spring and the promises of the Sun are the light at the end of the tunnel – the peace that so many of us yearn for but so few of us ever find? Perhaps the Sun is a religious metaphor? Maybe the poem is about dying and the struggle we as human beings experience “in the winter” of our existence? Regardless of whatever meaning you take from it “In the Winter” is a poem about Hope. I hope you truly appreciate this theme and the poem at its fullest.

Peace

Paul