Welcome back to the daily poem here in the Close Reeds Podcast Network. I'm David Kern.

Today is December 3rd, 2019. Thanks to everyone for your patience. I took off the last week or

so on this podcast for Thanksgiving break, just to recharge, so to speak. And now that we're into

December, I've got a slew of December, Advent, Christmas, end of year themed poems coming over the

next 27 days or so. I'll probably try to even record a few for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ahead

of time,

get those scheduled to get posted for you.

But today's poem is by an English poet named John Clare.

I read one of his poems pretty recently, and as I mentioned on that episode,

John Clare was the son of a farm laborer who became known for his depictions of English country life

and for his sorrow at the end of that way of life that he was commemorating and celebrating.

He lived from 1793 to 1864.

The poem that I'm going to read today is called Winter Walk.

This is how it goes.

The holly bush, a sober lump of green, shines through the leafless shrubs all brown and gray,

and smiles at winter, be it air so keen with all the leafy luxury of May.

"'And oh, it is delicious, when the day in winter's loaded garment keenly blows

"'and turns her back on sudden falling snows,

"'to go where gravel pathways creep between arches of evergreen

that scarce let through a single feather of the driving storm.

And in the bitterest day that ever blew,

the walk will find some places still and warm,

...