Sunday, 28 November 2010

Snow lambs

 First Sight

Lambs that learn to walk in snow

When their bleating clouds the air

Meet a vast unwelcome, know

Nothing but a sunless glare.

Newly stumbling to and fro

All they find, outside the fold,

Is a wretched width of cold.



As they wait beside the ewe,

Her fleeces wetly caked, there lies

Hidden round them, waiting too,

Earth's immeasureable surprise.

They could not grasp it if they knew,

What so soon will wake and grow

Utterly unlike the snow.

Philip Larkin

Actually not quite as the header suggests - these were the heavy snows we had last early spring, but we've had a sprinkling and trekked up to the Marches again this weekend to enjoy the real thing. Heard this lovely poem on Radio 4 as we drove home, read beautifully by David Walliams - I had to admit surprise. Arrived back in time for Advent carols in our village church, above. So Christmas is early this year! P.S. The snow fell for real on Monday and has stayed crisp and even just a couple of inches deep all week thanks to max temperatures of 0c.

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