we all love
your russet smile,
though shiver
at the thought of you
as you arrive.
warm heart,
cold outside:
the warmth within
will not abide.
you, my dear,
must harvest life.
you cannot love,
you cannot sit
beside the happy
and the fortunate.
you must strip their pride,
expose the nerves of life.
only then
may life begin again
and winter arrive.