For those of us in the northern hemisphere, tomorrow is the shortest day of the year. In a very literal sense, it will be the darkest 24-hour period of what has been, for many, an unforgivingly dark year in more figurative terms.
For all those looking forward to seeing 2020 take its final bow, though, this December solstice can also serve as an encouraging milestone: we’ve made it this far, and now the wished-for end is truly nigh!
This being a sci-fi/fantasy verse blog, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the way I’ve chosen to commemorate the occasion is with a round-up of hibernal genre poetry. Below, you’ll find links to 10 short winter-themed poems of the speculative variety.
Some of these pieces delve wholeheartedly into the holly-jolly spirit of the holiday season. Some decidedly put the “bleak” in “bleak midwinter.” Most fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
In any case, all are, in my opinion, well worth a look. Enjoy:
Poems for Midwinter Reading
“Amal and the Night Visitors” by Sonya Taaffe, Goblin Fruit Winter 2009 “Mistletoe underfoot like a sowing of nebulae, the light-fingered prints they leave on the cold …”
“Persephone Kidnaps Him” by Gillian Daniels, Liminality 13 “The story is that Death was in his black cloak, walking gently across the white tundra of the Earth.”
“Martian Snow” by Robert Borski, Silver Blade 42 “… new data now suggests snowstorms may rage on Mars at night …”
“Not the Owl” by John W. Sexton, Polu Texni 13 Apr. 2015 “It was not the worm, in its coat of tunnels, that stirred me from death.”
“Winter's End” by Davian Aw, NewMyths.com 53 “… melting snow dotted with coal and twig, scarves flapping surrender in the dismal wind.”
“A Spell for Rebuilding Your Lover out of Snow” by Peter Chiykowski, Strange Horizons 10 Feb. 2014 “Your body is a track pressed into winter’s crisp vinyl.”
“Tree of Swords” by Deborah L. Davitt, Star*Line 41.1 “Pinned to the ancient tree, a man hung, naked, pierced by seven swords …”
“Alone in the Wild Dark” by Allen Braden, Bracken VI “Night after night, season after season, the shush of wings …”
“Skadi in Snow” by Steve Klepetar, Eternal Haunted Summer Spring Equinox 2016 “She is looking for a ladder of stars.”
“Windhover Hall” by Krista Canterbury Adams, Altered Reality Magazine 6 May 2020 “This Owl’s Head dawn moves us in our quiet wandering …”
Thanks for reading!
A note for genre purists: Whether a few of the poems listed above fall under the umbrella of "SFF proper" is no doubt debatable. All, however, are sufficiently spec-flavored that I felt happy to include them in this round-up.
I hope that even if you question some of the calls I've made regarding the SFF-ness of these pieces, you've discovered (or re-discovered) something here that helps brighten up the sunless hours ahead. And however you spend the coming days--in hibernation, holiday-making, or calendar's-end housekeeping--I wish you all a peaceful solstice and a pleasant close to the year.
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