upriver the snow is choking silence
the mouth of the world held shut
not a word is said
and everything is known
and one is walking now
skin worn over bones like before
only now the antlers are borrowed
and the eyes are flames
that do not light the forest
the gray shadows
the drifting snow
all held in its arms
as it goes to light a fire
where the cold is deepest
silence falls
a wicker pyre waits
and there is still Winter’s child
to be delivered

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Soon the snow will melt.

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Photo by shayd johnson on Unsplash