Future Isabella, what can you tell us about the coming winter?
Will it be bitter, the bleak days echoing the quiet,
white stillness of the cold?
Or will it be mild and mellow as the oak trees bring
forth acorn tales to be told?
Predictions
Future Isabella, what can you tell us about the coming winter?
Will it be bitter, the bleak days echoing the quiet,
white stillness of the cold?
Or will it be mild and mellow as the oak trees bring
forth acorn tales to be told?
spanishwoods 
I am quite fascinated by this poem and its immaculate phrasing, yet find myself struggling in an ignorance of some of its concepts. From the very first two words “Future Isabella” to the last five words “acorn tales to be told,” I feel somehow that my poetic education must be lacking and I simply don’t have the background to understand or fully appreciate the deeper waters of this glorious. Finally, I must say that the imagery in this poem is uniquely elegant and polished, like nothing I’ve read in many years. Bravo, Sylvia!
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This caterpillar (which I know as the woolly bear) will become the moth known as Pyrrharctia Isabella. I originally wrote this to the woolly bear, but the name Isabella is so beautiful that by adding the word “future” I thought I was able to get away with it in the first line. This lovely creature is sometimes used as a forecaster of how difficult the winters will be, depending on how much black or how much amber brown is covering its body. When I was a girl, I was told of a way to predict the harshness of the coming winters by how many acorns were on the oak trees. Many acorns indicated a harsh winter and sparse acorns indicated a mild winter. Thank you for your compliment. It has made my day a happy one.
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Well, I knew I would feel really stupid when you explained the poem…and I do! I really didn’t have a prayer since I didn’t even recognize that there was a caterpillar in the photo! To me it looked like a long-stemmed plant that had been broken off or fallen over.
Obviously I didn’t know about the weather-predicting connection to either the caterpillar or the abundance of acorns. None of this is a fault of the poem. It’s just a Texas “city boy” waaaay out of his element on this one!
Can’t thank you enough for filling in the blank spots in my education!
🙂 ❤
Ron
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Please do not feel stupid. These are the things that fill my head (a country Ohio farm girl). Unfortunately for me, I rarely can discuss finances or “serious issues” like stock markets or politics or banking. These pieces of knowledge merely make me peculiar, and you are perfect the way that you are not knowing about acorns and their proportion to the winter snows. But, this is why I love poetry. It’s also why I love abstract art. My lines can mean one thing to me and another to you and we can both be satisfied, happy and right. There is no “one meaning”. I love that you could see something completely different than what I had intended.
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Yes, I know my “ignorance” (rather than stupidity) is excusable, but I have a silly little thing called pride that embarrasses me some times. But in this case, the Google chase (trying to understand the “Future Isabella” reference) led me to Queen Isabella of Spain. Ever hear of that country?! *grin* Of course, that chase was a dead-end but I learned a ton of good info digging to the end of the Wiki article! Sheesh!
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Chasing leads and running in different directions with searches can occupy my time in big chunks. I think that’s one of the positives of the internet, the ability to search for information so quickly and readily. I like getting lost like that.
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I wish a mild, last year was harsh enough!
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Oh, I agree.
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Looks like he’s predicting a chilly winter.
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I’m not sure, I don’t know enough about the ratio of brown to black on these little friends. It’s so interesting to me how many folk stories exist as winter forecasters.
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If his brown stripe is wide, the winter will be mild and if it is narrow, it will be harsh. This is just folklore, and you can find wolly bears with different sized brown bands in the same area. So I always go looking for one with a very, very wide brown band. 🙂
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Yes that is exactly what we need, a wide band!
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Lovely poem! And are you guys getting a lot of acorns out there? They seem to be everywhere around here (NY).
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Lots in Pennsylvania! Hard winter ahead…
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Wonderful! 🙂
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Thank you.
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Great shot!
I was walking the dog just a few minutes ago… and the exact, same kind of caterpillar was in front of us. I went around it, but our little Shih Tzu inadvertently stepped on it. I placed it to the side. Hopefully, it will be OK. Fortunately, she’s a small dog!
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Oh dear! Let’s think good thoughts for it… 🙂
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Wolly bear caterpillar? I have never seen one before. Great post!
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Yes, there are many in Ohio where I was raised and here in Pennsylvania where I live now. Very common and I find them so beautiful.
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Yes they are beautiful. I want to pet one. I am assuming that’s ok? Anyway, I haven’t visit Ohio or Penn yet, but when I do, I will make sure to look for them. 🙂
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Most likely if you touch it, it will stop in its tracks and hold very still. I’ve also seen them curl up onto themselves when touched. But they won’t hurt you in any way. They are only around in the fall, so you must hurry before the winter comes our way…
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A good dose of the old Farmer’s Almanac. –Curt
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Always, always helpful.
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