A Winter Morning

Ted Kooser

(1939 - )

I have always had a fascination with brief poems which nevertheless convey a great deal. "A Winter Morning" qualifies. I suppose this poem could be sited in many places but the rural Midwest seems particularly apt, especially since I am writing this on a frigid February day and the poet is a Nebraskan.

A Winter Morning

A farmhouse window far back from the highway

speaks to the darkness in a small, sure voice.

Against this stillness, only a kettle's whisper,

and against the starry cold, one small blue ring of flame.

Listen to the poet's thoughts about winter mornings. As a bonus, he includes his recipe for steel-cut oats!

Theodore J. Kooser is an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2005. He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006. Kooser was one of the first poets laureate selected from the Great Plains, and is known for his conversational style of poetry.