Winter

Blasting spectral flurries scream
Through arms of slumbering giants
The final remnants of night’s embrace.

Frigid darkness is replaced
By the chilling calm of a vacant expanse
Now visible behind shallow crystalline breath.

Furs are pulled tighter still
As dying embers return to black
The day begins anew.

As crispy snow shells crack
Crunching loudly under foot
Echoes ripple through the calm.

Creatures large and small startle
Enduring cold with song and shiver
Fleeting comforts that reduce despair.

Memories of longer light agitate
Amidst daily toil and bite
Future potential gestates with fervor.

The blinding glare fades
Tired limbs warm as the fire begins to glow
Rosy cheeks drift to dream.

The black of night consumes again
Some will wake and few will rise.
This too shall pass.