4 January 2026

By Philip Kuepper

Rime rimmed
the dawn-stunned morning
as though a celestial breath
had taken hold of the world.
Cold had come
unexpectedly in the night,
and left decorated white
the black-limbed trees,
clothing them in spectral warmth.
Animals’ prints impressed
the stiff grass,
and the furred path that led
away into the wood’s depths.
There they disappeared.
On the far side of the wood
the ocean lay unmoving,
on which boats sat
dreaming of voyages put on hold.
Sailors slept in.
Rowers rolled over in their bunks
sensing practice had been
put on hold.
All had crawled to a halt,
until an artifact of sunlight
had been discovered
melting the rime on the reeds
lining the river where it flowed
into the ocean.
The discovery stirred
the rowers in their sleep,
stirred them until they surfaced
to waking, and to the waking
river that shivered in the wintry
hour. Time had been found
to row before classes were to begin.

(27 December 2025)