2025 Articles

1/31/2025

It snowed last night in the city and again today 

I felt that after a long hiatus, I would welcome it

But my feet were wet through soaking shoes.

It is a new year and I expected the excitement of its celebration 

Would last longer than the cold month of January 

But the contradictory news surrounding my humanity

Seem to have drawn the joy out of its pleasure and

Drove us into its burst of fury.

I never thought to live this far into the twenty-first 

With its fantastic communication tools

That tell lies more often than setting us aright.

Yet here I am, dodging the homeless

Sheltering under plastic sheets 

Covering their cardboard abode

Ashamed, I notice there are more of them now.

Against the darkening sky, busy people

Hastily rush home, cowering under umbrellas

And wet collars pulled halfway up the head.

Buses and taxis splash through puddles 

Liquor store’s overhead sign flashes open

As people going in and out

Prepare for a cold night with a loved one or alone.

Back in the cheap motel room

I hang my wet socks by the bed and pull a blanket over me.

It’s still snowing. 

                         Reza Ghadimi