Louis Groarke: Urban Blizzard: Québec
Urban Blizzard: Québec
Τὰ ψυχρὰ θέρεται, θερμὸν ψύχεται, ὑγρὸν αὐαίνεται, καρφαλέον νοτίζεται.
(Cold becomes hot; what is hot, cold, the wet, dry; the dry, wet.)
—Heraclitus
like insects, snowflakes slowly swarm
all day long inside the storm
on every surface they alight
on straight and sharp and bent alike
they end each journey where they lie
then fall asleep and gently die
collect in piles on every side
like dead insects cast aside
mills and factories on the hill
are silent now—they stand there still
the roads are blocked, the city square
is ringed with cars abandoned there
the stores have closed, the schools shut down
heaps of snow, each home surround
the snowfall spreads its flimsy weave
the news has promised no reprieve
imprisoned now and locked indoors
we shelter seek from winter’s wars
we peer through windows, peeved, dismayed
as nature mocks our routine ways
we curse, complain, prayers upward…
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins