Winter Slumber

Placed Fourth in: 2024 Poem not for Contest Poetry Contest Sponsored by Silent One Winter`s Slumber When the ground is draped with thick snow As white as a new bridal gown, When rivers frozen hardly flow And frosts make their bed on the lawn, When snow storms splash with shrilling sounds Driving even the braver ones To seek shelter in the surrounds Or to yearn for shine of the sun, When birds quit their nests for warm seas In search of a temperate lee, Food for their daily survival And comfort for young arrivals, When trees stripped of their coloured leaves Display snow flakes on their branches Quivering under the cold breeze As in a foregone western ranch, When tulips twist and curl with cold Vying in despair at daisies Grown old in their shivering fold And deprived of their true frenzy, When house`s roof capped with white snow Hurls a ghastly moan down the heart, When crisp winds from the cold north flow And temper even one who`s smart, When temperature rolls below Freezing point and driving in snow Beckons bitter signs of danger I feel like tasting a slumber, A slumber beneath hot cover With the air warmed by a heater Lulling the drowsy eyes to rest And the body at its behest; When the body is in slumber The mind is just ever awake, Even in the midst of winter And drills where it is called at stake; When the body is in slumber The spirit is ever alive And waits not for spring or summer To guide travellers in their drive.