Light Through a Bedroom Window at Eighty

by Jane Yolen

As I sit writing this poem,

light filtered through my bedroom window,

dust-curtained, a January tease,

reminds me that we have miles to go,

not before we sleep, but before

we wake to spring.

It should make me sad,

But the light is slant and perfect,

offering its own invitation.

I take its hand, get out of bed,

lift the skirt of my night’s gown,

and dance.

* * * * *

Jane Yolen's book count is 382—the majority of them children's books, 10 books of adult poems, plus adult novels (fantasy and historical), nonfiction and memoirs. Twelve music books and 2 cookbooks, and . . . she has a low threshold of boredom. She has written a poem a day for the past seven years. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her work. www.janeyolen.com