To Annette in December - A poem by Jack Miles for Annette Smith December 5, 2004. 80th birthday celebration, Annette Smith. "Thou art not old/At such a time but timeless " Shall I compare thee to a winter day? Thou art more stormy, yes, but far less cold. Thy queenly gaze surveys from thy stronghold The spouting whale, the sportive seals that bray, The lads and lasses at their seaside play, And all the madness that the sunset gold Bathes in brief forgiveness. Thou art not old At such a time but timeless as a stray Gull motionless and white above the cliff Seems always to have been there, pure, undying And unborn, a thing apart, yet sudden, fine, And part of all that is to come. So if This wintry night thy subjects are found sighing O'er their wine, drink, Madame, to their love with thine. |