A Poem for a Thursday #155

Robert Francis was an American poet who lived from 1901-1987. He lived in a small house in Amherst, Massachusetts that he built himself. He called it Fort Juniper since Juniper is nearly indestructible. His poetry is reminiscent of that of Robert Frost and Frost himself once said that Francis was America’s best neglected poet.

Winter uses all the blues there are.
One shade of blue for water, one for ice,
Another blue for shadows over snow.
The clear or cloudy sky uses blue twice--
Both different blues. And hills row after row
Are colored blue according to how far.
You know the blue-jay's double-blue device
Shows best when there are no green leaves to show.
And Sirius is a winterbluegreen star.

Blue Winter
Robert Francis