The wintry haw is burning out of season,
crab of the thorn, a small light for small people,
wanting no more from them but that they keep
the wick of self-respect from dying out,
not having to blind them with illumination.
But sometimes when your breath plumes in the frost
it takes the roaming shape of Diogenes
with his lantern, seeking one just man;
so you end up scrutinized from behind the haw
he holds up at eye-level on its twig,
and you flinch before its bonded pith and stone,
its blood-prick that you wish would test and clear you,
its pecked-at ripeness that scans you, then moves on.
A poem that focuses a lot on the idea of hope and being happy with what one has. It is also about defiance and it uses nature and other forms of imagery as a parable to offer hope in a time of darkness. The lantern in the title refers to hope. The berries in the poem defy winter, just as people defy invasion with hope. So winter is an invading force.
Type of plant. Berries come in Fall at the end but they feed the animals during Winter.
The frost is so cold that it burns (oxymoron) and kills Fall.
Crabapple.
Hope.
The Irish.
Staying hopeful.
We don't need dramatic acts. The small amount of hope and the little things are enough.
Volta. Change in mood and tone.
Greek philosopher who walked through the streets with a lantern searching for honest men.
Scared of being exposed.
Bitter aftertaste.
The core.
Things being left behind to decay.