Graying
December, sharp kiss of winter
Love pangs, fools stabbing fools
Graying days, color out of eyes
— Dean Bowman
About the Work
Author's Note: This explores the intersection of seasonal melancholy and romantic disillusionment—that moment when external bleakness mirrors internal recognition of repeated patterns in love. There's also a dual meaning to the piece. Can you guess what it is?
Inspiration: Standing at a window during a particularly gray December, I was struck by how the winter landscape reflected my own emotional state. It was one of those moments of uncomfortable clarity when you recognize you've been both perpetrator and victim in your romantic failures, that good intentions can become weapons, and that the cycle of hurt feels as inevitable as the changing seasons. The poem emerged from that recognition of complicity—seeing myself as both fool and blade in love's cruelties.
Process: Unusually, the final line "color out of eyes" came first, and I spent considerable time working backward to find the progression that would earn that ending. The challenge was compressing complex emotional recognition into stark, almost telegraphic language that could carry the weight of both literal winter and metaphorical desolation.
Publication Details
Graying
Genre: Poetry
Author: Dean Bowman
Publication: Three Line Poetry
Issue: Issue #21
Date Published:
Language: en
Format: Print
ISBN: 9781494867379
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Dean Bowman
Dean Bowman