Winter’s Sleep

The pale sun slipping behind a veil of haze

The chittering of birds fading to a silent void

A cold breeze carrying away the warmth, leaving ice in its wake.

The chill settles in my cells, burrows in deep, claiming my heat

Setting off a dull ache that caresses my bones in tender apathy

Singing a languid song of summer’s end, the coming of eternal snow.

As one last glow of orange light ignites the horizon,

My soul rests in the feathered bosom of welcoming frost.

A blanket of amaranthine gray creeps overhead, gently smothering,

And my willing heart answers the call, eyes wearily closing, breath softly subsiding, Stillness reigning, as I sink into a long winter’s sleep, never again to rise.