My Poetry

Winter’s Song

By Abbie Johnson Taylor

I’m frightened of slipping on ice,

falling and breaking my ribs.

The days are as quiet as mice.

“More nice days,” the weatherman fibs.

Conditions are ever so cold.

The forecast is ever so nasty.

Still, I must be so bold

when I’d rather enjoy a hot pasty.

I’m wishing the weather were fine.

It’s too frigid now for ice cream.

If only I’d see the sunshine.

Is it really a crime to dream?

I wish we could have warmer days,

get rid of this wintery haze.

***

I wrote this poem years ago during a local Range Writers meting, where a guest facilitator showed us how to write a type of French sonnet with a specific rhyming structure. Back then, we were having a brutal winter, and that inspired this poem. It was recently published in The Weekly Avocet, and you can download the magazine here and read other wonderful work in this issue. Thank you for reading.

 

 

New! Living Vicariously in Wyoming: Stories

Copyright 2025 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Published independently with the help of DLD Books.

 

The scene shows an isolated barn off to the right in a snowy field, probably shortly after sunset. The foreground is a mixture of white, blue, and brown shades. Behind the barn is a line of dense, dark trees, many of them evergreens. The sky is the pink one sometimes sees at sunset, and a full moon hangs above the treetops to the left. The title is in plain black letters against the sky with a white glow behind them. The author’s name is in white letters near the bottom of the cover.

Image Description written by Leonore Dvorkin of DLD Books.

 

As defined in the first story, living vicariously means living your life through someone else’s. You’re invited to live vicariously through the lives of the people in these stories. There’s the lawyer who catches his wife in the act with a nun. A college student identifies with a character in a play. A young woman loses her mother and finds her father. And a high school student’s prudish English teacher strenuously objects to a single word in her paper.

In Wyoming, as in any other state, people fall in love, and sometimes relationships are shattered. Accidents, domestic violence, prejudice, and crimes all occur. Lives are torn apart, and people are reunited. Ordinary people deal with everyday and not–so–everyday situations.

The 25 stories in this collection, most of which are set in Wyoming, are about how the various characters resolve their conflicts—or not.

 

Click here for more information and ordering links.

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

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