Manifesto
The world stands perfectly still.
The world hasn’t moved an inch in weeks.
Crows have gone under, dreaming
that Spring lies limpid in their beaks. Earth
is off the hook entirely.
We shall expect
nothing of it. What’s required now,
my friends,
is scarves—not for their warmth
but for their brilliance: Lime and
scarlet, fire and turquoise,
coral, fuchsia and polished plum, plumage
fanned around our pallid necks, its dazzle
meant to send a message
in no uncertain terms:
We will not
ourselves go bald and
rigid as the trees. We will not be frozen out.
We will explode against the deadened
backdrop of these times, marching
through the gray wind
bearing our floppy,
luminous gems. We will be fearless.
We will show the winter that our colors
have been at last reclaimed—
that we do indeed,
remember gaudy Summer,
her mesmerizing hues.
The world hasn’t moved an inch in weeks.
Crows have gone under, dreaming
that Spring lies limpid in their beaks. Earth
is off the hook entirely.
We shall expect
nothing of it. What’s required now,
my friends,
is scarves—not for their warmth
but for their brilliance: Lime and
scarlet, fire and turquoise,
coral, fuchsia and polished plum, plumage
fanned around our pallid necks, its dazzle
meant to send a message
in no uncertain terms:
We will not
ourselves go bald and
rigid as the trees. We will not be frozen out.
We will explode against the deadened
backdrop of these times, marching
through the gray wind
bearing our floppy,
luminous gems. We will be fearless.
We will show the winter that our colors
have been at last reclaimed—
that we do indeed,
remember gaudy Summer,
her mesmerizing hues.
--Kristen McHenry
6 comments:
Ach, gorgeous!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Dale! I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day pretending to write. It was deathly gray outside, and almost every single person was running around in a brilliantly colored scarf, as if to say "Eff you, Winter! You can take the moisture from our skin and the motivation from our souls, but you can't take away our sense of color!" :)It was wonderful just to sit there and watch all of the bright dots of color against the gray.
This is so heartwarming! I had to post it in my Scarf-Blog: http://the-silky-side.blogspot.com
Thanks so much, Vanessa! Nice site!
So good - lush images and humorously extravagant about its subject. So fitting now, with the snow deep and determined to stay out the winter!
I like the idea of the revenge of the scarves. I am also a scarf person. Enjoyed this.
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