You might think it strange that ‘A Poem about Frost’ should be the Pick of the Month for the height of summer but Aishwarya Raghu’s ‘profound’ ‘melancholy’ and ‘beautiful’ poem took voters beyond nature and winter and there was something about its peaceful isolation that appealed.
Aishwarya is a 26-year-old content writer from Bangalore, India. Her work has previously appeared in magazines such as the Louisville Review, Glass Mountain Magazine, aaduna, and Vayavya.
A Poem about Frost
Swan resting
on an empty lake: white
but for the lake. Blue
but for the swan.
Winter will set in
from the
leftmost
corner of the lake.
Eagle swan.
I can no longer
tell bird from bird.
When winter sets in,
the swan will be trapped
left foot down.
Things will change. Moss
under snow. Earth
under moss. A scuba diver
would be trapped underwater
if the lake were the sea.
Lonely diver
with the left foot
of the swan for company.
The swan will fly. Bird
will turn into bird.
Voters comments included:
This poem took me into another, almost dreamy, imaginary land where the loneliness gave me a kind of weird satisfaction.
Reading this makes me feel something each time. I can’t quite tell what, and that’s why I like it.
the simplicity of words.
[ A description of ] nature and its beauty in a delightful and enthusiastic way. No words to express the joy of reading the poem.
The imagery; period!
Earthy and meaningful
Loved the poem structure; abrupt yet halting. The contradictions in the poem are reminiscent of the work of Robert Frost. Which then makes the reader wonder if the poem is about frost or just Frost’ian!
I love how the poem somehow makes me believe there’s hope and then suddenly makes me feel a sense of loss. It makes me feel like I am the scuba diver and I’m out there forever trapped in an infinity.
It’s about nature! Very descriptive in less words.
The poem causes chills with frost
I love the way this poem is structured and the imagery it builds. I almost feel like I’m there.
Reading the poem almost makes me feel like the swan. It gives me some strange feeling I can’t describe.
The poem is a word-picture: stark and simple but beautiful, with a child’s logic, e.g. the left foot of the swan being the one to freeze into the ice. There is an air of myth and mystery, and whimsy.