Editor's Foreword  

     Winter has arrived with snow and blustery winds, freezing rain, fog--all the cold fireworks that go along with the season.  And with these come the usual declamations.  Students at the college where I teach go around shivering and swearing they will never work in Michigan but get jobs where it's warm all year.  Various faculty and staff bemoan the cold and wish they were in Florida or California--or near the equator.  Everyone decries the coming of winter.  Everyone, it seems but me.

     I've always enjoyed winter and cold weather.  This seems a heresy in an era when people seem to think that being warm is the meaning of life.  But I grew up in Indiana, where the summers are humid and miserable.  In youth, my favorite times of the year were the cool, pleasant days of Fall and Spring;  given the choice between Winter and Summer, I'd opt for Winter always.  So part of it is conditioning.  But part of it is something more.

     The charm of winter is its quiet.  Snow muffles noise.  Animals hibernate, birds migrate to warmer climes, and silence reigns.  The sky is often clear and the frost sharpens the stars and moon.  Snow lends its magic to the landscapes I see.  The pace of life slows down.  I read more and my life is less frantic, more contemplative, and more settled.  There is Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, Solstice, Saint Agnes' Eve, Saint Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day (here Winter is still pretty much going on in March, though you feel it begin to lose its grip).  It is a time to set a different pace and switch perspectives.

     Now to segue!  We have lots of great poetry, very suitable to read on long, deep Winter nights and opening a variety of perspectives.  This December issue of Lucid Rhythms contains seasonal poems:  a few Christmas numbers, poems about the the end of Fall and the coming of Winter, the Solstice.  We also have a wide variety of numbers on subjects that range from cats to sex to raking leaves to famous adherants of S&M--and a lot in between.  Once more, the poets come thorugh with their wit, their ability to perceive and to state the essential.  Thanks to all who contributed.  I trust this issue will be engaging reading;  Winter is the perfect season to enjoy it.