Snowflakes

“Callow Youth” by Lynn Rogers

say goodbye to your safe space

smell the cordite in the air

the fierce scent of the workplace

time to grow yourself a pair

Distractions

“Life is Good” by Carmen Guedez

with cold breath of death
on the back of the neck
retreat into memoried
warmth of the womb

float on thoughts of an
unsteady soft newborn foal
of first opening buds at
an early spring bloom

of the smile that turned
callow boy into man
of the swoon to the surf
synced to beats of the heart

all the sweetness of life
in distraction from fear
to resolve for alacrity
gracefully poised to move on

Intrepid

Bust of William Stephenson – code name “Intrepid”

secret science and industry
drawn into service of shadows
one large little man
turned two continents
out of their dim
interbellum inertia
the pacifist dream cannot live
without those who will willingly
wield any weapon
of mettle and mind
to engage and defeat
the inveterate foe
the ubiquitous black heart
evolved from a freak
disposition to power of thrones
deconstructing arenas
will not save the world from itself
every meadow and churchyard
too easily made into battlefields
but for intelligence gathered
by diligent moralists
steeped in the essence
expressed by the cardinal oath
of never again

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“We were trained to live by our wits, in any circumstance.” – William Stephenson