Poetry for Students, Volume 35

Honors Book. Since she began publishing in 1968,
Giovanni has had more than two dozen books
published, as well as many essays and individual
poems. She is a prolific writer and also a teacher.
Giovanni has been a professor at Virginia Tech
University since 1987 and in 1999 was given the
title, University Distinguished Professor, the high-
est award given to members of the university fac-
ulty. As of 2010, she resided in Virginia.

Poem Text

Frogs burrow the mud

snails bury themselves

and I air my quilts

preparing for the cold

Dogs grow more hair 5

mothers make oatmeal

and little boys and girls

take Father John’s Medicine

Bears store fat

chipmunks gather nuts 10

and I collect books

For the coming winter

Poem Summary

Stanza 1
The first stanza of ‘‘Winter’’ begins with a series
of brief phrases about the preparations that are
being made for the change of seasons. Winter is
coming and animals and humans alike are pre-
paring for the change of season. Frogs burrow
just under the surface of the mud at the bottom
of a lake to hibernate. Their heartbeats slow and
their breathing becomes shallow, but they are
able to absorb oxygen through their skin and
from the water. Likewise, snails hibernate by
burying themselves. They are able to excrete a
slime that hardens and closes the opening to
their shells, leaving only a small hole to allow
air. Humans also prepare to burrow under layers
of quilts. The speaker describes airing out quilts,
which will be needed to ward off the cold nights.
Quilts are usually stored away for the summer
when not in use. Sunlight damages fabric and
weakens the threads; thus it is customary to wrap
quilts in old sheets and store them during
warmer weather. As the days shorten, quilts are
taken from storage and hung outside to air out.
Airing quilts removes any insects that might
have taken refuge during the summer within

their folds. Airing also removes the stale smell

of storage and infuses the quilts with the fresh

smell of outdoors. All of these preparations sig-

nal that change is in the air. The seasons are

about to change and preparation is key to sur-

viving change.

Stanza 2

In stanza two, the preparations for winter con-

tinue in the house. Dogs prepare for winter by

growing a thicker coat of hair. Dogs grow an

undercoat that will add protection and warmth.

This undercoat is a reminder that dogs did not

always reside in people’s homes, sleeping cozily

in warm beds. Instead of cold cereal or fresh fruit

for breakfast, people now prefer warmer foods,

especially oatmeal, which heats the inside and

offers a soothing and comforting way to warm

up on cold mornings. Further preparations for

winter are evident in the dosing of small children

with Father John’s Medicine. Father John’s was

a cough medicine that became very popular

in the latter half of the nineteenth century. By

the beginning of the twentieth century, Father

John’s had become nationally known as a tonic

MEDIA

ADAPTATIONS

Giovanni’s spoken album,TruthIsonItsWay,

which was recorded with the New York Com-

munity Choir in 1971, was reissued by Collect-

ables in 1993.

Giovanni reads her poetry for two hours on

The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection(2002),

issued by Caedmon.

An audio recording ofCottonCandyona

Rainy Day(1978) by Giovanni was reissued

by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 2009.

Only the Best of Nikki Giovanni(2009) is a

five-DVD-Audio disc, in which the poet

reads poetry from several of her collections.

Although she does not read ‘‘Winter,’’ Gio-

vanni reads sixty-eight of her poems on this

audio DVD.

Winter