18 Comments
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B Philippe's avatar

Brr! It’s difficult not to brace against the cold but when we relax and invite it (cold, grief) in to settle, we can become accustomed to it, adjust and move forwards. Lovely piece.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Aww, thank you B! Yes, exactly. Embracing it, feeling it all, makes the spring all the sweeter. Thank you, bless you!

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AsukaHotaru's avatar

November really does bite a little harder than the rest, doesn’t it? The way you wrote it feels like walking through that wind myself—sharp, grey, but strangely honest. Loved how the grief sits quietly between the lines, like something the season teaches without trying.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you so much, Asuka! I appreciate your generous words -- and "something the season teaches without trying." That's a whole poem right there!

I've set aside time this morning to read your book. I've seen the chapters go past, but didn't want to start in the middle. And I see you've reposted the first one, so here I go ....

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Miner Poet's avatar

So spare and lovely.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Ah, thanks so much, Miner!

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Stephen's avatar

Somber! November calls for this kind of poetry.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thanks so much, Stephen!

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Gary L Taylor's avatar

I really liked that. It really seemed to capture the personality of the season as it becomes more persistent and brings a with it that creeping early-evening darkness and colder feel throughout November.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you so much for your kind comments!

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Moon-Kite Maker's avatar

Clean, elegant, and succinct: I’m going outside now to walk through your poem!

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you so much for that thought. The sea must have added a mournful sound to that visit.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me.

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Moon-Kite Maker's avatar

As it happens, I stumbled across an old cemetery this weekend and immediately thought of your poem. Only this time one had a view of the sea.

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Travis Lowe's avatar

"curdle the sky" is a perfect description I never thought of before

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you, Travis!

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Ray Sweatman's avatar

Beautifully bleak landscape. I can feel the cold keeping wind.

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Nora O’Dowd's avatar

Thank you, Ray!

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