Kate Nemec ’23: “Winter-Time” by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Winter-Time” is a beautiful, nostalgic winter poem that reminds me much of my childhood and the whimsical sights of snow coating the driveway on a frosty morning,” Kate said.  “The poem provokes the feelings, sights, and smells associated with powdery snow days around the holidays.  I cannot help but reminisce the utopic snowy landscapes in which my siblings and I made snow angels and went sledding.  I enjoy this poem during the holiday season especially, as it is lighthearted, which couples nicely with the euphoric spirits of Christmas, despite the shorter days and ice-cold nights.”

“Winter-Time”

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,  
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;  
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,  
A blood-red orange, sets again.  

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;  
And shivering in my nakedness,  
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.  

Close by the jolly fire I sit  
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore  
The colder countries round the door.  

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap  
Me in my comforter and cap;  
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.  

Black are my steps on silver sod;  
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;  
And tree and house, and hill and lake,  
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

Featured Image by Gabrielle Wheeler ’23