In Winter's Hold

Winter, winter how we feel your icy touch The earth is now under your freezing clutch What falls in our ears is the howl of gales from far The night sky, cast in grayness devoid of a single star In the dawn, nowhere can one spot the buzzing bees Icicles hang from boughs of leafless trees Birds sit with drooping wings in their woody nests Within eye shot, no trace of any roaming beasts Trees stand sleeping in the biting cold The sun has lost its bright sheen of gold From nowhere comes the song of a single bird On the slopes, one cannot sight the grazing herd Roof tops are crusted with flakes of snow That the sun with sharp beams alone can thaw Piles of snow lie heaped on the barren ground And the entire Earth lies in a sea of ice drowned Busy streets and pavements are now lying bare People stay indoors. To be out they hardly dare The rodents have gone into hibernation in their ditch And life altogether has gone out of pitch In the smiting chill of a dreadful wintry night When through every fiber n’ nerve, is the cold bite How we like to sit cocooned beside the hearth Sipping a cup of steaming tea in rising mirth In such quiet hours, one can peruse into the pages of tomes That will transport one to enchanting magical zones Or engage in a hearty chat with friends and family Thus turning even the bleakest hours sweet and lively Placed First A Strand (1056) Poetry Contest Sponsor- Brian Strand