Oh winter…! how do I love thee.
Let me count the ways —
When the cold slush of a rainy day turns to ice,
gritty with soot and dirt: how blasted lovely.
When the grimy snow melts, partially freezing to an outer shell,
with no warning now slick and cold: how damn exciting!
When the puddles that were once muddy mush now turn stiff
and the wind swells to a cold roar
ripping under coat flaps and prickling into mittens:
sweet effing challenge it is!
but finally… when the day softens to silence
and another snowfall descends
white and cool, for a brief moment crystalline and pure…
I lapse silent,
reluctantly accepting
the beauty.