Tag Archives: Robert Frost

The Ice Storm Cometh

By Robin Bates | Published: February 15, 2021

We’re currently undergoing a potentially severe ice storm. Here’s what Robert Frost has to say about ice storms.

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Ragnarok, an Extreme Weather Event

By Robin Bates | Published: December 22, 2020

Gaiman’s account of the Norse apocalypse Ragnarok comes close to describing a world destroyed by climate change.

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Promises on the Year’s Darkest Evening

By Robin Bates | Published: December 20, 2020

When we have a president who is governed by self-gratification, Frost’s famous poem about honoring obligations is what we need.

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The World Will End in Fire AND Ice

By Robin Bates | Published: January 2, 2020

When Frost wrote, “Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice,” it now appears (judging by Australia and Greenland) that everyone is right.

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Ensnar’d with Flow’rs I Fall on Grass

By Robin Bates | Published: August 1, 2019

Friday I found utterly dispiriting this past week’s Democratic debates in which candidates lasered in on tiny differences while a fire rages all around us. I haven’t wanted to relax my vigilance regarding Donald Trump since autocrats win when we become so worn down that we stop paying attention. Nevertheless, these two wretched debates made […]

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A Light Exists in Spring

By Robin Bates | Published: March 20, 2019

Thursday – First Day of Spring I’ll let Emily Dickinson usher in the new season with “A Light exists in Spring.” I like how the poet describes this time of year as elusive, a sentiment found in a number of other magnificent spring poems, including A. E. Housman’s “Loveliest of Trees” and Robert Frost’s “Nothing […]

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Burdened by Ice

By Robin Bates | Published: January 26, 2019

Spiritual Sunday With much of the country groaning under the weight of winter storms, I share a Robert Hayden poem in which the speaker calls out to God in his misery. I warn you the poem does not conclude with a comforting—or a facile—promise. Sounding very much like George Herbert in his inability to pray, […]

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Snow Days Open Cracks in Time

By Robin Bates | Published: December 12, 2018

Wednesday Checking the east coast’s weather report from Slovenia, I see that it has been blanketed by snow, closing a number of schools and workplaces. I therefore repost this essay on the joys of a snow day. Reprinted from Feb. 9, 2010 An unusually heavy snowstorm has locked us into our homes these past few […]

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Returning to the Misty Past

By Robin Bates | Published: October 18, 2018

John Gatta’s “Spirits of Place” is helping me understand why I have chosen to retire in my home town. Wordsworth, Stowe, Homer, and Frost help out as well.

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