Okay, it felt a lot like a lot more than a cold breeze
a frigid arctic blast, more like it, that first early
hard cold wind of late fall, early winter, with the first
dry, cold snowfall, caught in constant whirlwinds
dancing on the cold pavement.
Skimcoats of ice on the shoulders, at the crosswalks,
the street lights, where the cars idled, a quietude too
in the city on this day, as if knowing the cold coming
when it will take up residence, settle in and camp out
Wind whipping down the broad streets, north and south
seek shelter in the lee of the buildings, walk east and west
avoid the open spaces, the wide boulevards,
feel the catch of the air in your lungs, clenched shoulders
hunched up to keep the collar around my neck
ears hot from fighting the cold, sanctuary inside
A first taste of the winter two weeks away
Oh to be warm again
December 8, 2006 17:20
Copyright by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. All rights reserved. Contact me at
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