Makers, Gatherers, Melters of Frost

The word poet, which has been in use in English for more than 600 years, comes from the Greek word poiētēs, itself from poiein, meaning "to make." The word also shares an ancestor with the Sanskrit word cinoti, meaning "he gathers, heaps up."
~Merriam-Webster Dictionary

When the frost has melted
by Peter Shanks

A poem by Zen Poet Ryokan Taigu (1758–1831) about letting go:

Though Frosts come down
by Ryokan

Though frosts come down
night after night,
what does it matter?
they melt in the morning sun.
Though the snow falls
each passing year,
what does it matter?
with spring days it thaws.
Yet once let them settle
on a man’s head,
fall and pile up,
go on piling up –
then the new year
may come and go,
but never you’ll see them fade away

translated by Burton Watson

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Poetry for Children has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Sylvia!