Winter's Embrace

she comes in the night cloaked in frost and snow, quiet as a breath held too long, stripping the leaves from the trees with the same tenderness as a lover’s goodbye, painting the world in shades of blue like an old memory that won't fade. she is my handmaiden, the messenger of cold, harbinger of endings, but i am not afraid. i've learned to welcome her, to feel her icy touch against my skin as a reminder of everything that must pass. with every caress, a flower wilts, a bird falls silent, and people huddle close, seeking warmth and comfort in the flicker of firelight. but in her cold, i find beauty— a kind of peace that feels more real than the warmth i seek. in her breath, i hear stories of things long lost, of battles fought on frozen fields where no one wins, of lovers whose names time has erased. her whispers hold them all. as she moves through me, leaving frost in her wake, i am reminded that nothing stays. all things must end— and so, i hold her close, my handmaiden, dancing through the night with her until spring comes to claim me once again.