The weather is turning here in Indiana. Not quite as icy as the picture above – at least not yet… but the delicious chill in the air has seeped into my brain. I’ve been thinking a lot about ice, and icebergs, and depths in relationships, and hidden things. What amazingly fascinating creatures we all are, worthy of respect and always a second look. I haven’t always been the best at seeing what is in front of my face. Here’s a rondeau about love and ice and loss – not about any one person in particular, but maybe about us all.
Nobody warned me
Nobody warned me when the front door shut
a piece of me would leave as well. The rut
worn deep into my heart from long routine,
our blunted expectations, set the scene
for this unraveling. Perhaps what cut
me most was knowing I had missed a glut
of signs, had let the feeling in my gut
diminish to a whisper. What did it mean
nobody warned me?
If I had known I might have altered what
I said. Instead those icy caps that jut
above the surface chilled us with the sheen
of easy waters over pain unseen.
I could not reach you then – I would have, but
nobody warned me.
Penguin Poems 
This. What I was feeling but had no words for. Beautiful. And beautifully sad.
This is wonderful, Andrew.
I’m fond of this form(well, most forms, actually that use a staged repetition) and you work it well, making the very plain rhyme scheme rich and varied, flawlessly wielding your chorus line(that somehow sounds as if you are throwing dancers around–and in a way, you are.) Enjoyed this very much, not least because I’ve been there too, in that icy and very universal place of frozen surprise. Fine writing.
Andrew, that is magnificent!!! Love the rhythm, love the rhyme, love the images/analogies–love all of it! Read it about 4 times just to enjoy the hum in my brain 🙂
oh very nice…you capture well that feeling in the after…and not knowing…ugh…if only we could see forward a bit..esp in relationships…def like the form as well…dont think i have tried that but i like the circle back there in the end….
on a side note, my sister lives in evansville…
Very powerful and well done!