Good morning. The day 9 assignment for Writing 201: Poetry is cold for the topic, concrete poetry as the form (text in shapes), and anaphora (repetition of the same word)/epistrophe (repeated words at end of lines) as the device. I tried to incorporate all of these in this poem, but didn’t quite get the concrete poetry I envisioned. My computer wasn’t cooperating to get the shape I wanted (user uncertainty 🙂 ), so I shifted the text for blowing flakes and then piles of snow.
Nor’easter
The winds
start blowing.
People rush
clearing the shelves.
One word sticks in their mind.
Nor’easter.
A word that causes
mass panic.
How much snow
is coming?
Measured in feet, not inches.
Nor’easter.
Snow starts falling,
fast
and
furious.
The governor issues
a state of emergency.
Everyone off the streets!
Nor’easter.
When will it end?
delight fills children’s eyes.
Adults groan,
remembering the last big storm.
Nor’easter.
Snowflakes,
fat and wet,
quickly coat the ground.
Layers and layers
turn from inches to feet.
Nor’easter.
Oh, the snow has stopped.
People emerge from their homes.
Beauty all around, but no one sees.
Damn Nor’easter.
Shovels scrape the heavy, wet snow away.
Snowblowers get clogged up with cold packed ice.
Adults curse the foot plus of snow.
Damn Nor’easter.
But there’s another group,
loving the many, many inches of snow.
Sleds hit the ground with shouts of glee.
Kids love a good nor’easter.
Snowmen
pop up
dotting many front lawns.
Smiling with eyes of coal and a carrot nose.
They love a big nor’easter.
Lists of school closures announced,
even business stay closed.
Stuck at home ’til the plows come.
Oh what a nor’easter!
When will life return to normal?
The cold winds continue to blow,
confirming this snow is not going anywhere.
A lasting reminder of the nor’easter.
Kathy's Blog: Healing from the Loss of a Parent 
You did a great job of matching up the words and the shape. And I love the contrast between the adults’ and children’s feelings about the weather. Nice work!
By: Sonya on October 18, 2015
at 7:10 am
Thank you. I love the beauty of the snow but hate clearing it away. My kids are so excited when school is closed because of a storm. One year we got so many back to back storms it took 4 days for our road to be cleared and school was closed. The worst is when you’ve cleared the walks and the driveway and then the plows finally come through, leaving a wall of packed snow at the end our driveway, which needs to be cleared.
By: Kathy on October 18, 2015
at 8:20 am
This is so perfect! I couldn’t use that specific poetic device in mine, but yours is something done so well it gives a great feel to your poem. Like, it was fun reading it.
From the shape (that’s woah-work!) to the descriptions and the tone. Awesome!
By: randomlyabstract on October 16, 2015
at 7:34 am
Thank you so much. I was trying a different shape, but I couldn’t get my computer to cooperate. I am glad this one works.
By: Kathy on October 16, 2015
at 9:22 am
It does work very well!
By: randomlyabstract on October 16, 2015
at 9:31 am
I like, in a mischievous way, how the litany in the poem changes from “Nor’easter” to “Damn Nor’easter.” From this poem, I learned details of how folk respond to this regular, weather intruder. I live farther west where the centers of the same storms tend not to come (usually). We get the perimeter effects, though we can get banged on from directly south and west with other storms. I hope the busyness and sickness get better. Cancer killed both my parents. Thank you!
By: clcouch123 on October 16, 2015
at 12:44 am
Everyone does actually panic and scramble here when a big nor’easter is predicted. Although I will take a nor’easter over a tornado or hurricane. Hurricane Sandy was destructive and scary, but we didn’t lose our house. I’m sorry you lost your parents to cancer. It is such an awful disease. Thanks for the comment.
By: Kathy on October 16, 2015
at 9:21 am
Did you break up your words that way to deliberately show a wind effect? The Nor’easter sounds exciting, you have to excuse this revelation. It looks that way from my screen far away, hehe. You used your Epistrophe and Anaphora well, it kept my attention on Nor’easter which is the source of your Shape poetry.
By: Noirfifre on October 15, 2015
at 4:04 pm
Thank you! Yes, I broke up the words because of the winds that nor’easters bring. Snow blows sideways. We had one here recently and the rain was blowing from left to right as I looked out my window,
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 4:07 pm
That is a clever trick to portray the wind! Creative :). I have only seen the rain do that crazily once, during a tropical storm. To be honest, it was a beautiful, amazing sight.
By: Noirfifre on October 15, 2015
at 4:09 pm
It is beautiful until you need to remove a foot plus of snow from the driveway and walks. 🙂
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 4:14 pm
haha, true but I can only imagine :).
By: Noirfifre on October 15, 2015
at 4:15 pm
I like your poem, nice read.
By: Alexander on October 15, 2015
at 12:04 pm
Thank you. I need to wait until tonight to read what others have written. Bummer. Busy work day and a sick kid.
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 12:35 pm
The crazy wind. Well done!
By: jacquelineobyikocha on October 15, 2015
at 11:29 am
I work from home and look a window at the front our house. There are no snow days for me. I’ve seen snow blowing sideways. We had a nor’easter last week – just rain – and the rain was going sideways. Then 2 days ago, we had a thunderstorm with some wicked lightning. Crazy NJ weather is what I should say. Thanks for commenting.
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 12:40 pm
Winter is approaching fast. This is a wonderful way of explaining just that. 🙂
By: Megan on October 15, 2015
at 10:48 am
LOL – if we don’t get a weird Halloween snow, we probably won’t see snow until January. Thanks for stopping by.
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 4:16 pm
Its like that here as well. We usually expect a light powder or an avalanche of snow around Halloween. Than back to 60 degree weather until Jan.
By: Megan on October 15, 2015
at 4:40 pm
Keep the snow away please. I’m not ready for it. I love the poem.
By: Melinda Kucsera on October 15, 2015
at 9:59 am
LOL – the snow is beautiful and so peaceful. But I don’t like shoveling. Of course something is up with our snow blower – it’s on the list of things to fix when we have extra money. But if we have a bad winter, I will find that money.
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 12:37 pm
Agreed. Sure snow shoveling is not fun
By: Melinda Kucsera on October 15, 2015
at 1:08 pm
Terrific poem.
Just to show you how things seem from the other side of the Atlantic, my first thoughts were of Charles Kingsley”s poem that begins:
“Welcome, wild Northeaster!
Shame it is to see
Odes to every zephyr;
Ne’er a verse to thee. ”
Quite a different angle on the North East Wind.
By: lassfromlancashire on October 15, 2015
at 9:55 am
Thank you for stopping. I will have to check out Kingley’s poem. It would be nice to see another viewpoint of our dreaded nor’easter.
By: Kathy on October 15, 2015
at 4:20 pm