Winter has settled in to place in the southern hemisphere. Damp and cold days predominate.Winter doesn;t have a large circle of friends, but it does draw lots of attention. If pluviophile is a new words to you, then I hope you are curious enough to check it out. It's a word just perfect for winter.  As the rain fell down into the street, it baptised me in the process and a winter poem rose from the puddles forming on the footpath.  Umbrellas Are Pluviophiles It rained most of today A signature winter day Consistent, soaking rain Made everything sodden, damp and dank The neighbourhood dogs refused to go for a walk The cats, displeased Chose to sit by the window and sulk My old mate, Roger Was seen dodging puddles large and small Because there’s a hole In the sole of his favourite boots By contrast the umbrellas Were most pleased for the outing Rising to the occasion While popping their eye-catching tops. Alan j Wright It is Poetry Friday once more and our host this time ...

Across the six years I was living and working in New York I was most fortunate to harvest a rich vein of  stories. So many stories...  My friend, Linda once shared a story about growing up in the city and enduring the somewhat oppressive summer nights.  That story became the focus of a poem I included in the 2016 anthology, 'I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon.'  Writers and poets are storytellers... Summer Night Escape On those long ago Summer evenings, The children of New York Dragged their mattresses Onto the fire escape In search of  A zephyr  Of cool air And a chance to dream. No air con back then, Just a sweat box Apartment. So they crept through  Open windows Buoyed by hope Of finding relief  Slumbering Above the street. Alan j Wright It is yet again, Poetry Friday and our host on this occasion is Linda Mitchell at Another Word Edgewise Linda presents a collection of quotes she hopes might springboard fresh poetic pearls from her readers....