The air is relentless and vicious
And it tries to bite anything that is exposed
At times a white blanket covers the ground
that appears to be soft
and you are mute from all noises
The trees are nothing more than barren skeletons
Reminders of past times
Many animals have left in search of better times
Or others sleep to wait the time out
And others parish, unable to survive in such conditions
Water is covered with sheets of slippery material
Like a bridge, the daring sometimes cross
The wind howls, like a lonely wolf
and violently shakes anything in its path
Like an unforgiving tornado
The stars almost seem to shine brighter
Like candles of hope
In the long, cold nights
That get longer by the day
But one day
Out of the dreary, bitter, wet, cold times
a burst of color pokes through the white blanket
The sheets over the water begin to crack
The wind stops to rest
a bird returns from a place unknown
And a new era begins
