A Cardinal on a Snowy Day
A single cardinal, on a snowy day,
Cloistered in a nearby hemlock branch
Paints brilliant red onto a winter’s gray
His plumage, like a scarlet avalanche,
O’ersweeps the eye, diverts me from a scene
Of whiteness drifting down on dark green boughs.
He pierces what would else be seamless screen
Of green and gray and white. He dares to rouse
My yawning vision from its placid gaze,
In homage to his power to adorn,
With brilliant feathers, able to amaze,
On such a drowsy, placid winter morn.
Thus does this one small scarlet snowy bird
Awaken me to thoughts of dreams deferred.
Rob Fried is an 81 year-old emerging poet and a retired professor of education. He has authored several books, including The Passionate Teacher (1995, Beacon Press) and The Game of School (2005, Wiley). He lives in Concord, New Hampshire.
Thank you for this wonderful poem this morning. Reminiscent of Frost, I really loved your use of a moment of natural beauty to evoke feelings of wonder and gratefulness. Well done.
“scarlet avalanche” is such a nice description for the cardinal’s plumage.
They ARE wonderful, aren’t they in almost any weather?
A fittingly artful poem for an always outstanding bird.
How sweet and so vivid, thank you for sharing!
A superb, thoughtful final couplet to a sonnet that brings the cardinal to life with some vivid and inspiring imagery. The feeling of the cold, monochrome backdrop is palpable.
Thanks for the read, Rob.
Precious poem.
Very nice sonnet, Rob!
This is a beautiful and heartwarming piece, Rob! Thank you for sharing it.
For years now I’ve had a mating pair spending the warmer months in my backyard, and I couldn’t be happier. I generally don’t grow red flowers, so Mr. C. always adds a missing hue. Strangely< I think Ms. C., with her tawnier raiment, is the more beautiful and, for that reason, just as striking in the plantscape. The photo here, however, does not show a hemlock; it looks like an Eleagnus or something, but definitely not a conifer. A cardinal is striking with any backdrop, but against snow it can justify anything winter throws at us.
I have been lucky enough to witness the magic of the cardinal, and you have captured the wonder of this striking bird beautifully here, Rob. This poem puts me in mind of one of my favorites – Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush.
Susan, The Darkling Thrush is one of my favorite poems — perhaps the first one I ever memorized!
Rob, I’m so glad you’ve discovered the joy of writing poetry, and I certainly agree about the beauty of cardinals. You’ve done a great job of praising them here!
Rob, your poem offers much more than praise of the bird, as impressive as the sight can be, especially in snow. You start with color, noticing not only red against white, but providing a focus where green and grey too become apparent. The cardinal colorizes the snowy world view–and then you add motion. Red avalanche, and “drifting down” (not to mention “o’ersweeps” and “pierces”) move this from a snowy scene to a snow-ING scene. That brings energy. The turn of the sonnet is “rouse” at the very word point where octave moves into sestet. Sensory vision becomes mental homage, which enlivens the intellectual alertness of the summary couplet. A sonnet of vivid and thoughtful structure!