February 7, 2023

Dust of Snow

By Joe

Dust of Snow
By Robert Frost – 1874-1963

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

“Dust of Snow” is a short poem by Robert Frost, published in the Pulitzer Prize-winning volume New Hampshire (1923). The poem’s speaker, possibly the poet himself, is initially unhappy. But a sprinkling of snow, dislodged by a crow in the tree above the speaker, brings an element of surprise that partly “save[s]” the speaker’s bad day. The poem thus shows how nature can lift people’s mood, if only temporarily.

About Joe

I began my life in the South and for five years lived as a closeted teacher, but am now making a new life for myself as an oral historian in New England. I think my life will work out the way it was always meant to be. That doesn't mean there won't be ups and downs; that's all part of life. It means I just have to be patient. I feel like October 7, 2015 is my new birthday. It's a beginning filled with great hope. It's a second chance to live my life…not anyone else's. My profile picture is "David and Me," 2001 painting by artist Steve Walker. It happens to be one of my favorite modern gay art pieces. View all posts by Joe

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2023 at 6:00 am and posted in Poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

One response to “Dust of Snow”

Craig
February 7th, 2023 at 11:44 am

Frost is one of my favorite poets. So many see the rustic imagery and think of him as conservative and rural. They fail to see the deeper meaning hidden by thee image. So in some ways Frost is related to Wordsworth where the real subject often is the life of the mind.

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