Welcome fellowship

warms even the coldest day

if you’re willing to reach out.

~

We’re more aware on

these real cold days of how much

warmth simple presence can bring.

.

Without a compass,

it is easy to get lost.

With one we can find our way.

~

Moral compasses

work exactly the same way;

if you’ve got one, you get it.

Sometimes good enough

is the best we can hope for

given the circumstances…

~

Knowing when we’ve done

enough, have enough, worried

enough makes things easier.

Against a background

of slowly melting snow, birds

line the porch rail for their meal.

~

At my place today

a cardinal decided

screened porches make good pulpits.

Still in its beauty

this white chiffon on the lawn

sure looks good enough to eat.

~

As a child I

made and ate snow cones, but those

days are now long gone.

If we feel compelled

to count, let’s count our blessings

as well as our woes.

~

Detailed accounting

of our numerous blessings

lift spirits ever higher.

After much delay

and some procrastination

let’s promptly put pen to pad…

~

This recipient,

showing solidarity,

delayed writing too.

Through small openings,

sweetness can come and bring warm

smiles to our tight-lipped mouths.

~

…and I always thought

it was sour and bitter

that made tight lipped rictuses.

A wonder how woods

can warm our hearts and our homes

whether we burn it or not.

~

Walking or watching

the woods, we are able to

replace our worries with warmth.

Pink clouds ease across

a pale blue sky as the sun

slowly says goodbye.

~

And in that gloaming

moment between day and night

glows a special spectral light.

As chaos expands

all around this crazy world,

where can we find safe harbor?

~

By finding ways to

end the chaos we’ll make life

safer for us all.

Again with the rain?

Has winter somehow forgot

even the concept of snow?

~

Ah, the fickleness

of life. Even the seasons

forget what they are.

What is whispering

in the wind? Is it a sigh

of awakening?

~

Hard to distinguish

a sigh of satisfaction

from sighs of resignation…

Arise! Face today,

despite the summoning cry

of the blankets’ warm embrace.

~

Forget yesterday’s

gloom. Today we are greeted

with shimmering light.

Even the sky cries

on this day remembering

the insurrection.

~

Tears amount to naught

in the hearts of heartless men

feasting on their avarice.

Her chill insertion

into my dreaming hours

fills me with wonder and dread

~

It’s hard to be chill

when wonder and dread come to

us when sleeping or awake.

Unexpected cold,

especially in the house,

is not to be accepted.

~

Growing heated

does no good so we cooly

called the experts for some help.

Here in Virginia

January’s first day was

gray. How I long for the sun!

~

From here, every day

of this freshly newborn year

has nowhere to go but up!

Oh… that still morning

before the dogs’ insistent

barking drags us from our beds

~

New year’s first morning

begins with a call. Listen.

Who knows what else you will hear?

2024

is knocking at our door, but

what will it demand of us?

~

An election year

demands ear-plugs, ipecac,

and this time…digitalis.

Fundamental truths

sometime are so obvious

one expression won’t suffice.

~

Oblivious to

the obvious, we make our

slow push to oblivion.

Impervious to

reason and compassion, he

lumbers and blunders along.

~

Thundering aloud

all the repressed vitriol

those of privilege camouflage.

Impervious to

reason and compassion, he

lumbers and blunders along.

~

Boundless obstinance

in the face of certain truth

highlights the canker within.

Backs against the wall,

desperate men with a lost cause

stoop to vilify the dead.

~

Trying to maintain

their grip, they end up loosing

it and vomiting bile.

The sky is crying.

Maybe the sky didn’t get

what it wanted for Christmas.

~

Cerulean tears

soak into the umber earth

feeding seeds of verdant growth.

Eating Christmas Cow

with sizable sides of borscht

may not be traditional.

~

Neither are texts filled

with name callings sent out by

disgruntled ex-presidents.

Tis the day before

Christmas and all through the house

chaos reigns but there’s no mouse.

~

All those absent mice,

anticipating chaos,

seized the reins and fled.

Into the tumult

of this year’s Christmas season,

caroling with abandon.

~

Christmas is the time

to abandon self-focus

and rejoice with each other.

After that meeting

I gargled with garlic to

get the bad taste from my mouth.

~

Garlic gargling

has much to recommend it,

far beyond the zesty breath.