stars

Tonight it's cold enough to see Orion above the city lights.

winter Schuylkill

Today the reflections don't move. In spite of the cold, I stop on the bridge to look -- it's the first time I've seen the river ice over. Scallops of white where the top currents ran slow, slower, thick with cold.

blackberries

With the taste of store-bought blackberries, unexpectedly, the Big Rock. Before the wooden walkway, when we leaned the heels of our hands against one granite wall and sidestepped bare toes across another. When the brambles made thin marks on our dry, tanned legs, we picked blackberries in the late-summer sun. And ate them. And swam. Lakewater washing our juice-stained hands.

hardened

A woman sobs on the other side of the street. I sneak a look. She's walking in the other direction, pulling a plaid shopping bag on wheels. And because she could be crazy, or drunk, or faking, because I'm not in Maine, I look ahead and walk faster.

unseasonable #2

Unmelted snow rings the trees. Tree, mulch, snow, grass.