Winter Whispers

Pointed, brilliant drifts of snow

pierce the evening of winter.

Curving upward they arch

to a luminous, cyclopean moon.

A guest, humble, I stand here

beneath flickers in northern skies.

Icy grains atop snow drifts, 

move obediently for winter gusts.

One drift releases grains to its neighbor.

Tumbling crystals, indifferent, brush sodden drifts.

A rabbit stops to listen.

Paul Krapf image adapted

OLD MAN AND THE GRACKELS

He walks slowly to

a familiar place.

One hand on the park bench

he lowers himself to rest.

He cups a flame, 

cigar smoke rises 

to his hat brim,

curls upward and over.

A frenzied bevy of grackels,

scurries over scraps with

scampering feet, rapidly

changing directions.

Their troubles, easily witnessed and

his own long conquered,

contented, he rises.

Image by prostooleh on Freepik

Quote of the month - illegal immigration and "due process"

I apologize for the poor granularity of this picture snipped from an Atlas Society post on LinkedIn (my fault not theirs), but I believe Stephen Miller's quote should be shared!  Mr. Miller writes,

"The right of "due process" is to protect citizens from their government, not to protect foreign trespassers from removal. Due process guarantees the rights of a criminal defendant facing prosecution, not an illiegal alien facing deportation."

The Atlas Society post on LinkedIn