Winter can't Hold Me

Check out my you tube channel where I do poetry readings. Link below.

Winter’s brutal kiss
tried to freeze me
on my journey.
Not the holiday-movie winter�"
the real one.
February cold that froze men
to park benches,
that took brothers out
with slips on ice,
brain bleeds blooming fast and fatal.
No holly jolly Christmas for them.

I didn’t come out of it by being brave.
I came out of it by continuing to fight
in spite of the fear.
By looking at the carnage and chaos
and calling it mine,
by owning it,
by accepting my part in the s**t
instead of hiding in a bottle
for another day,
another century.
I’m no choir boy,
not even in the same cathedral,
but I told the truth
when lying would’ve been warmer�"
like a space heater in a blizzard shack.
I named the demons
instead of feeding them vodka.
I watched them shrink
once the light hit them,
scatter like pigs from a fire.

The cold still shows up.
Still tries to cling
to my secondhand coat.
It always will.
But somewhere�"
under snow and frost,
under bleak December nights,
under all that noise�"
there’s a heat that lives in me.
It’s part of me.
A gift.
Grace, unleashed.
Something stubborn.
A summer
that learned
how to survive
inside a man
who refused to be a punk.

Author's Note

🎙️ New long-form poetry reading!
Five poems from Sleep Always Calls, read in the shadowy glow of a jazz lounge.

📖 Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-W.-Case/author/B0CL2RKDGX?ref=ap

▶️ Watch the full reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSb3oMjGoHQ

Let the words hit, linger, and resonate.

Reviews

[Buddhistboy73]

A powerful and emotive poem about fighting the good fight in life....

I like the way you use winter as a metaphor for the challenges you're going through.....

I liked these lines:

I named the demons
instead of feeding them vodka.
I watched them shrink
once the light hit them,
scatter like pigs from a fire.

Keep up the good fight brother.....

BB73

[Thomas W Case]

Thanks. Much appreciated.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Lying might be warmer, but when the heating bill is due, we will pay dearly.
j.

[Thomas W Case]

So true. Thanks, Jacob.

[John the Baptist]

Winter can symbolize many things. Here, I think it stands for a bleak period in the past, A time that saw people close taken down. The speaker acknowledges he might have shared a similar fate but for his will to live. He makes no excuses, owns his mistakes and wisely gives himself credit for hanging in there. He admits "the cold" still appears occasionally, but believes he can handle it now. I believe he can, too.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend.

[Rosie E C…]

This is quite manly,

Some strong choice in words making it into a reflective and inspiring read.

There is a level of toughness in this. And it shows off your character as an author.

You are impressive in your ability to engage with the reader. It really does captivate the mood and the present moment.

A chilling, frosty read.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Excellent work. One of your finest.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, kind sir.

[ETERNITY]

You're thinking about hitting the golf course instead of a hit of acid.

[ETERNITY]

When the time comes that we make the choice to sit at home alone instead of hitting the dealer to free base.

[ETERNITY]

Hi Thomas, Wow! I never thought about that! The holiday movie winter compared to the real one! Omgosh, you talking about the winter freezing men to park benches actually gave me chills and "No holly jolly Christmas" for the ones who slip on the ice and end up with brain bleeds'...
You see way past the decorations and I love that!
Thanks for sharing!

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend. Much appreciated.

[JessyJacob]

Hi Thomas how are you and I greatly miss your Starsrite it's fine I still can' see the content. Keep faith in yourself nothing can harm you.

Jessy Jacob ❤️

[Thomas W Case]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[Soren]

That old saying that were there's life there's hope, where, where there's smoke there's fire there remains the remnants of summer fire to carry one through the depts of winter not only of the year but of life nicely done Thomas

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[Soren]

You are most welcome Thomas

[red93]

Kicking the bottle is a bold, powerful, life-affirming step. The lives I have seen broken by alcohol since living in Temp Accomms - you can live clean with Tobacco, it doesn't fetter your mind. Exceptional ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Thomas W Case]

Thanks, my friend.