CHURCH ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON

There's something holy about being in a room in the
Anglican church on a Saturday expressly to study poetry...it feels
sacred on so many levels, makes the words taste sweeter somehow.

FULL MOON RISING

It's supposed to be huge; bigger than the Super Bowl

that's all over the news, all over the TV, everywhere

you turn actually. All one can hear about is this biggest

moon ever that's supposed to wax full and rise tonight.

The sky is as clear as a newborn's skin and I've been

waiting impatiently to see it, but there must be some mistake. 

The stars are brilliant but there's no moon tonight...no Luna at all.

WHISPERS ON THE WIND

The wind is harsh tonight, filled with Arctic cold and polar iciness;

and when it howls full of gustiness and more winter to come, I hear

your voice, barely a whisper, in my ear, trying to tell me what it

was you needed me to know there near the end.

AUDREY'S BOOKS

The wind whips me wildly as I stumble from my car to the

store...It is lit up like Christmas even tho' it's just an ordinary

Tuesday night and I'm only going there to browse for books.The warmth I feel is fireplace-worthy at least.

IN THE EVENING

We settle in, content to be cozy in front of the fireplace,

letting the winds roar around the eaves, as we watch

television comforting in its familiarity.

SUNDAY MORNING CHILLS

Waking to Sol blasting bright as summer, I am fooled until

I crack the back door to let the dog out. In seconds, winter

blows into the kitchen with the force of the polar ice cap

reminding me, it's still January and winter's not even half over.

NOTHING TO FEAR

In the dimly lit room, manufactured shrieking is matched

by a tiny girl's terrified cries as her father tries to prod her

nearer the exhibit. It is gruesome in the extreme. Realistic

plant roots that, when grabbed and yanked, reveal a shrilly

screaming devil-baby extruding from the ground. Shuddering

I turn away, more upset by the parental performance and

the child's torture than anything I've seen on display.