Claire in Poland

Dear Mr. President,  Why do we need a wall if we are free and brave?  Dear Mr. President,  The golden rule of my childhood, hung up on every elementary school wall in every classroom, was “treat others how you want to be treated.” Do you want to be shunned because of your location or religion? Dear Mr. President,  Why do you pinch my clean white cheeks and tell me how much my dreams are worth, but shy away from the children stained with blood and debris from fallen buildings?  Dear Mr. President,  Doesn’t the Bible preach to accept and help whoever you can?  I would inform you that they say the same in the Torah and the Quran, but I am afraid you might clog your ears if I speak either of those words.  Dear Mr. President, At what second did America become ‘not great’?   Dear Mr. President,  Why is it that human sympathy and benevolence towards others hardens like paint on a wall or tea left out in the sn...

Rosy cheeks, heavy clothing, runny noses Hot chocolate and tea Meals of soup and meat Naked trees Snow up to your knees Smoke dancing out of chimneys Sledding the parks Skating the rinks After play, warm hands in the sink Frozen cars, frozen toes, frozen ponds  Frozen hopes for heat   “Only a few more months!” a woman squeaks