For some, winter's a bliss...for others it's a dreaded event. Yet for others it's a wonderment, for they have not experienced it. For me, it's part of the journey I must experience...taking it as it comes. :)

Lena

good one and good to read you again,i kno ive been away for too long.....

Great visuals in this sad wintery poem....M

Masterful expression, dear friend.

You capture the complete feel of winter,with so few words.
Superb writing, Jude!

love and blessings,
Eileen

You have conveyed the mood of the moment very effectively, Jude. Thank you. Love and peace to you,

Regis

It's good that your beautifully crafted lines
remind us that for many it was far from a merry Christmas.

good luck to you and yours in the coming year, jude.

-gene,

Living in Minnesota it is the freeze we have to battle to keep warm, but to be homeless the fight is enormous..God bless them, may they find that hearth, your poem makes me pause..your work is remarkable Jude~
Christine

Chilling in all its physical and emotional images. Always top shelf Jude.

Jude, I can feel the freeze through your excellent poem! It will be very cold in my neck of the woods until March. Happy 2011!! Take care, and God bless! Chessly

This is razor sharp, bloodying the white and cracking the black. Your use of "freeway" seems especially poignant and powerful, given the context of being related to those who are seemingly less than "free" - disenfranchised, in fact. I have just seen pictures in the Sunday Times of Chicago's winter branches coated in inches of clear ice, the rain-storms having solidified instantly as temperatures suddenly plummeted to -29 degrees. It's a wonder people are able to survive and your image of those frozen woods dying in campfire-hoods is heartbreaking. Your last line, however, is truly captivating and puts a new spin on the idea of being joined at the hip! :)) It suggests both warm adhesion yet icy brittleness. Your Freeze/Frieze paints a vivid and concise tableau. May 2011 render much that both inspires and warms your heart and soul, Amigo, moving us towards compassion and truth. xx

The sting of winter to the homeless is unimaginable jude. You "freeze" captures the essence of their nightmare with compassion. I bid you love and peace my dear friend. Jon Michael

homeless shelters are priceless in the winter. ~ Morgan

Poignant and very true. I live in northeastern lower Michigan, and right now we are having a heat spell. 39F and wind chill is 32F. But the icy cold is right behind and coming up fast. I feel sorry for the homeless any time of the year, but mostly in the winter. For those of us that have a roof over our heads, we should be thankful to the Lord that He has provided us with shelter.

Happy New Year, Jude.

May the Lord Jesus bless you, and those whom you love, and be with you always, and at your side constantly. With much love in my heart, joy to the world, peace on earth, & ((((((((((MANY WONDERFUL SISTERLY HUGGGGSSSS)))))))))), your little sister, Barbie

It must be pretty cold where you are. I am in sunny Florida.

keep warm, cool poem!

Ragno

poignant write!

It's hell to be poor in winter. Adhered like a tongue to steel. I cringe just reading and glad I've left most of it behind.

Ron

You really recapture the power of cold!
A Really Happy New Year,
Christine

Body heat thaws the popsickle house. The kindness of strangers is worth millions when it's zero and that's when numbers really matter in the compassion of math. Feel that tap on your shoulder? It's me...Happy New Year my Bronx friend! Blessed Be.

Love,
Sage

The imagery fits the conditions perfectly, brrrr

Sounds like the crazy storm to hit NY city,I heard from family there is was unlike anything they expereinced before,and you description and tone, nails it,

Jude,
Doesn't sound like a view from the shore to me...Quite poignant in visual thoughts..so bitter cold these past few days, you have captured the moments stillpoint extraordinarily!
We have gotten over 12 inches in Connecticut.

Going to be in your neck of the woods today. Wishing you much warmth from this cold snap.

Peace, light and love,
Amber

So many caught in that Freeze, these days.

makes me feel lucky to only be drowning in buckets of rain out here. i grew up in the northeast and i must admit, i don't miss the weather much. it's good to read you again, been kinda quiet around here lately. hope you had a nice holiday and best wishes for the new year. this poem evokes many memories. take care.

winter is very difficult without shelter, may we all have compassion...I remember as a kid in Chicago, every winter people who were fortunate to stay alive, usually lost a body part - toes, fingers, feet...etc from exposure... 40 yrs later there are more than ever on the streets...may we all send some love and light to creator on their behalf...

blessings to you and Happy New Year

Were you, by any chance, in Manchester NH last Sunday?? Even if not, you described the ambience perfectly.

Chip Bergeron

B-R-R-R-R...Frigid offering, Jude, lots of great visuals. Happy (and cozy) New Year to you and those you love.
Take care,
Sherry

strong write with definate image promulgation. I can feel the bite of the wind but also the image of a girl's face tucked into her lover's shoulder out of the wind.... well done.
fee

SHIVER!! lovely work as always

nice lyric...

'hood 'n' shoulders' is just the kind of clever wordplay I like
good alliterative force in the 'winter...wood...campfires...couples...' nexus, too.... fine form, as usual.

Get a bit of snow up your way, did ya, Bob...? Yeah, us too & this old idiot I know quite well (me) tried to shovel and threw out his back...you'd think I would know better by now wouldn't ya...ed