• the gentle caress of winter's chill,
    sweet upon a feverish brow,
    shiver and ache,
    the sky gently quakes,
    and breaks;
    crystalline petals fall
    to touch upturned hands
    and frozen noses
    and line eyelashes dark
    as soot upon the foot
    of the fireplace
    where a sable cat sits
    eyes aglow
    with secrets to know
    but never to find
    within the mind
    so deeply entwined
    with mystery.