the last big snow

porcupine today

going

out on a limb,

s/he's moving keeping balance

my walk was short and very very cold

i could hardly see past the balaclava and my glasses frosted up

shadows were all kinds of indigo

and purple.

new years eve and i sit home with a candle lit,

babysitting this old house as the thermometer creeps ever lower.

i am alone, not lonely, still missing the new place.

jude wrote about shelter, what porcupine seeks (between meals)

and what i must have or i would die (also between meals).

i have no quills to defend myself, or ability to climb agiley up, eating bark and buds

out on limbs that challenge balance,

and my language is a conversation with friends, not repelling enemies.

thank you for being along on the journey.