Poetry Friday: “Naked”

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S., and I’m still trying to work off my turkey coma.  You’d think the energy from the sugar in the tarte tatin I made would counteract the effects of the L-tryptophan in the turkey,  but you’d be mistaken.  Instead of it being a zero-sum situation where the chemical effects simply negate themselves, each of the effects tries to out-do the other.  Sort of like a game of walleyball with your brain as the ball.

Nevertheless, I had a blog post to put together, and no amount of soaring and crashing was going to deter me from my mission.  I wanted to post something seasonal for today…so I decided upon this:  a poem I thought perfect for this time of year.

It is the first of 22 poems I’m including in the manuscript for my winter-themed collection; once you read it, you’ll understand why I thought it best to start the book with this particular one!  Enjoy…and please be sure to check out all the Poetry Friday happenings with Mary Lee & Franki at A Year of Reading!

Naked

The wind blew off their clothes, oh my!
One minute they were fully dressed,
And then before we knew it
They had lost their tops and Sunday best.

The wind blew off their clothes, good grief!
It seemed to happen in a flash.
Now, there they stand quite naked –
Poor old elm and maple, oak and ash.

The wind blew off their clothes, it’s true;
It took away their pants and shirts.
But soon they will be looking fine
In snowy hats and snowy skirts.

– © 2012 Matt Forrest Esenwine