Welcome to where I am, where my kitchen's always messy, a pot's (or a poet) always about to boil over, a dog is always begging to be fed. Drafts of poems on the counter. Windows filled with leaves. Wind. Clouds moving over the mountains. If you like poetry, books, and music--especially dog howls when a siren unwinds down the hill-- you'll like it here.


MY NEW AUTHOR'S SITE, KATHRYNSTRIPLINGBYER.COM, THAT I MYSELF SET UP THROUGH WEEBLY.COM, IS NOW UP. I HAD FUN CREATING THIS SITE AND WOULD RECOMMEND WEEBLY.COM TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN SETTING UP A WEBSITE. I INVITE YOU TO VISIT MY NEW SITE TO KEEP UP WITH EVENTS RELATED TO MY NEW BOOK.


MY NC POET LAUREATE BLOG, MY LAUREATE'S LASSO, WILL REMAIN UP AS AN ARCHIVE OF NC POETS, GRADES K-INFINITY! I INVITE YOU TO VISIT WHEN YOU FEEL THE NEED TO READ SOME GOOD POEMS.

VISIT MY NEW BLOG, MOUNTAIN WOMAN, WHERE YOU WILL FIND UPDATES ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY KITCHEN, IN THE ENVIRONMENT, IN MY IMAGINATION, IN MY GARDEN, AND AMONG MY MOUNTAIN WOMEN FRIENDS.




Sunday, December 26, 2010

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS


Another poem from the NC Arts Council's Christmas Garland of 3 years ago. (www.ncarts.org)


The Day after Christmas


by Kathryn Stripling Byer


Scent of ashes
from the hearth.

Tattered colors
strewn like rainbows

on the the rug.
The drip

drip of snow melt
from the eaves

and underneath
the tree an emptiness

that means
our lives are full

with gifts just opened,
gathered now into our keeping

for another year
of longing toward the peace

that passes
every day's misunderstandings.

8 comments:

Vicki Lane said...

Lovely! Here we have the enforced peace of being more or less snowed-in. Heavenly!

Charlotte Holmes said...

Captured moment, exactly.
Your photo, too.
Love & Merry Christmas, Kay!

Glenda Beall said...

I love the photo.
I love the poem, especially the line about the emptiness under the tree.

doris diosa said...

*Splendid* poem, Kay. i was just bragging about your way with words, last night. Happy Kwanzaa to you. - dorissima

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

Vicki, I love being snowed in, as long as there are some bottles of wine still left and leftovers in the fridge. Jim gave me a new camera, not as fancy as yours, but it will do more than this old one can. I'll be posting some photos as soon as I figure it out.

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

Charlotte, I hope you, Jim, and Will had a lovely day--and day after. We are enjoying the Tait Farm gifts! Thank you.

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

Glenda, how are you? Your back, especially? It's been a harried couple of months for me. So I'm enjoying being snowed in. Am awaiting a call from my mother to see if we are still alive.

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

dorissima, now, don't brag too much. My "way" is pretty "froze up" right now, and I ain't talking about the driveway. Happy Kwanzaa to you, too. I've a big pot of bean soup on the stove and we'll have skillet cornbread to go with it tonight.
Happy you like the poem.