i ponder the wrinkles
in my tights
and think upon my knees
to ski or not to ski
that is
the annual question
maybe next year
the inevitable reply
kneez
kneez
not made
for genuflecting anymore
or for bending
benz ze knees
keep zoze tipz togezer
says happy hans
his cuckoo clock ski instructions
rooted in red geranium stocks
cold
a bitter wind
blows off the snow
hell no
i will settle for
warmth and sun
an embrace from the tropics
even lorca's violet mosquitoes
the pristine snow
is welcome
to the majestic mountain
with its cruel blue shards of ice
i will never see it again
Ha, I would do the same....I would pass on the skiing & let the snow enjoy the mountain and the mountain enjoy the snow. (Not that we have mountains nearby.) I skied (sort of) twice in my life. That was more than enough. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteOh I am so with you. These knees, this body too old to put to the perils of the slope. But how beautiful to be inside by the fire with a hot brandy or hot chocolate. I'll go with the latter.
ReplyDeleteWintertime is not my favorite season ~ I love looking at the snow-capped trees & mountains but not indulging in sports like ski ~
ReplyDeleteOh so sorry! I have only recently taken up skiing more seriously as moved to the mountains where I can cross-country out my door--I hear an Austrian ski instructor in your poem--and also the poignancy of the decision. I'm not sure you're truly done yet!
ReplyDeleteI thought I commented--but not sure--a fun but poignant poem! I am not sure you are truly done with it! Thanks. k.
ReplyDeleteYes I am truly done with it!. I used to go under duress and never ever enjoyed any of it except drinking schnapps from a flask with Rudi or Hans on he chair lift:)
DeleteLife is so dam interesting..at times through the full cycle of it..
ReplyDeleteBad knees when i was young..fix them self on their own..now at 54..instead of 21..
and at 47..i'm freezing to the core..of my human being..as a breeze in 100 degree weather makes me chilled instead of heated man....
This year..in 18 degree weather..i am standing on snow..doing TAI CHI in my underwear..and yes..i've the photos to provide evidence of it..perhaps too much information tHere...
But..
the human experience is so dam amazing..
in ALL THE POTENTIAL THAT DOES EXIST!..
i don't know you..
but
the
snow
may have a treat for you again...
sometime
in
this
life's
pleasures...:)!skiing down hill...
or who knows..
maybe even up..
it could be up to ya!..;)1
And no i'm not a motivational speaker..
just a liver...is all...!
I've never been skiing, so it is my dream to come true one day... and then maybe I'd agree with you.. just maybe! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes..yes..yes. I think you captured that thing that life forces us to do once we're past 29. Each year comes with compromises - babies, responsibilities, work, sitting too much and then our bodies betray us - the knees won't bend, the thumbs ache, the cartilage wears and we feel different yet we know more and appreciate better. Well said here.
ReplyDeleteMmm.. Great writing that gradually takes a hold of you - and really loved the line: "even Lorca's violet mosquitoes..." my sense is that there is much more great and more intense stuff still to come from you...
ReplyDeleteI sense a little bit melancholy, or perhaps ambivalence—being simultaneously drawn to and repelled from the snow. I wonder if it is due to location, bad knees, or a bit of both?
ReplyDeleteif someone asks you to go skiing, I assume you will quiet them with "schuss" :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a standing joke in our family...every year I say maybe next year:)
DeleteI cannot ski, but I do enjoy snowshoeing… the cold air and ice sculptures are as beautiful to me as summer flowers.
ReplyDeleteI especially like "his cuckoo clock ski instructions
ReplyDeleterooted in red geranium stocks". Good one!
I have a friend who's a ski writer. He even wrote a book called White Planet. He'd likely disagree :) ~
ReplyDeleteHa...so you are a skier !
Delete