cold water pounds on back & shoulders: some nerves numb; some fire wildly.
Under the Falls [Haiku]
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Tag Archives: Cold
Cold Moon [Haiku]
my breath mingles with a bright white moon, on a cold winter night.
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Bone Cold [Blank Verse Sonnet]
From a stove-heated room, the snow brightens one's mind with hope that all will be made clean, but cleanliness is next to nothingness and nothingness is next to loneliness. From inside, snow is silencing and light. It's fine and shifts like sand in desert dunes. It's silent like the depths of a cabin at midnight on the prairie before time. From outside, snow saps all of one's resolve, and makes one wish to flee the purity it pretends to generate all around. The cold, it bites like a full-body vice. The feet go numb, but brains... they fire wildly -- they shake one awake, but dare one to sleep.
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What the Grass Loves [Haiku]
a cold, rainy day, but the green grass thrives -- well-watered / air fresh
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Diamond Water [Haiku]
the day is cold, but the sun is out, and the water sparkles
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Cold Stone [Haiku]
winter: stone sculpture of snuggled infant & mother; my bones grow cold
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Billowing Breath [Haiku]
breath billows in the cold, evening air -- a child amused
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Cold Shore [Free Verse]
Was it a lifetime ago, or was it a dream? I remember it being a long drive to a cold shore. And I sat alone on that shore, and I sought a shark -- not out in the waters, but within myself. Finding nothing, I felt the thing to do was to rattle in rhythm with the twisted hustle of pounding waves, and I awoke, shivering under piercing points of light that somehow felt cold, & made me feel cold - deep inside.
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BOOK REVIEW: Life at the Extremes by Frances Ashcroft
Life at the Extremes by Frances AshcroftMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Anyone interested in the limits of human physiology will find this book fascinating. Technically, its subject matter is broader than that, considering the environmental limits of living creatures, generally. However, all but the last chapter focuses on how humans react to (and adapt to) extreme conditions. Chapters one through six explore the challenges and limitations of humans under extreme conditions of elevation (ch. 1,) of pressure [underwater] (ch. 2,) of heat (ch. 3,) of cold (ch. 4,) of intense physical activity [running-centric, but deals with strength and power as well] (ch. 5,) and in space (ch. 6.) Then, each chapter reflects upon examples of species that are extremely well-adapted to said conditions, and why. (e.g. After learning about how and why humans have to acclimate to survive high elevation treks, one learns about the bar-headed goose, a bird that can go from sea level to flying over Everest – all in the same day.)
The final chapter (ch. 7) is a bit different in that it discusses extremophiles, creatures that can survive in a wide range of conditions (e.g. acidity, temperature, lack of moisture, lack of oxygen, etc.) that would be certain death not only for humans but for any animals. Most of the species discussed are either single-celled creatures or tiny multi-cellular life (e.g. Tardigrades.) With respect to humans, there is a discussion of the limits and present understanding of suspended animation.
This book offers an intriguing look at life at the extremes. While written by a Professor of Physiology, it’s highly readable for a general audience. It mixes narrative examples in with the discussion of physiology to make the material approachable and engaging. I’d highly recommend this book.
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POEM: A Leak in the Sunny Side
Rounding through the pass, I crossed from the cold to the sunny side. But while I transited from the damp & mossy to the dry grass side of the mountain, I carried the cold with me. The ubiquitous sun would not warm me, but rather I seemed to suck the warmth out of the world -- as if I were a portal, and the light landing upon my skin was shunted to some parallel universe. I was the world's window left open with the heater on, and the temperature differential pulled a steady breeze in my direction, to who knows where?
Tiger Riding for Beginners 