Forever Winter

Stepping lightly along the grey fencerow
The Winter snow has begun to blow
The white-faced cattle mewl from the fields
And the trench coat men will grasp their hats
As I am pulling my coat tighter
Around my collar, wincing at the wind
My eyes tear with the memory
Of earlier times when I was young,
And the world was also, and we would run
And play in the Christmas snow, jolly, sweet and clean
Bounding down the sugary hills on sleds
Waxed for speed the old-fashioned way, with candlewax,
And our breath solid-visible in the cold,
Cold air and the darkening world so silent,
Creeping so silently a muffler around
The old neighborhoods, holding the fire deep within my coat
To burn an ember that lasts even until today.