Old January

What January is.

Because December is a cat
that tinsel tangled so,
Old January is a dog
who lacks the will to go.

Old January needs a rep
the way December does.
(The Zodiac is quick to share;
indeed, it’s all abuzz.)

He wears a coat of Arctic fur
with underbelly swell.
He lies out on the frozen pond
in sylvan glen and dell.

Some people try to guess his breed:
“Is he Great Dane or Chow?”
His species doesn’t matter much--
He’s winter anyhow.

For over thirty days he is
abiding winter’s might.
He represents the cold and snow
and does it with delight.

Sometimes he walks across the land
but then he will think twice;
Old January is a dog
sprawled on the snow and ice.

24 Lines
Writer’s Cramp
December 29, 2013