New York City, March 4, 2013

★★★ Morning brightness caught in the thickening lace of the treetops, and it caught in the still-steaming breath of pedestrians. The buds were reddish and the river bluish. When does being beautiful but cold cease to be enough? The beauty is an episode; the cold adds up. Smokers angled their bodies partway against the breeze but stood and chatted on the corner. The sunny side of the street argued, unsuccessfully but perhaps rightly, against following the walk sign over into the chilly shade.