The thaw comes gnawing   Up the hillside.   Trees cling like vines   To the morning light.   Me in my window,   A glassy gray sky.   It creeps inside   To where the sleeping lie.      Some winters,   They linger.   They heave their frost   Till summer.   Some winters,   They keep us   Locked under ice.      Some winters,   They haunt us.   They fill our lives   With shadows.   Some winters,   They leave us   Barely alive.      Some winters,   They crush us.   They tear us   Bare and broken.   Some winters,   We need them,   This bitter fight   That only the soul survives.      The crows are calling   Across the long miles.   Lend me your flight;   Be my lonely guides.   We'll rise like letters,   Ink across the light,   Always a sign   Of the stubbornness of life.      Some winters,   They linger.   They heave their frost   Till summer.   Some winters,   They keep us   Locked under ice.      Some winters,   They haunt us.   They fill our lives   With shadows.   Some winters,   They leave us   Barely alive.      Some winters,   They crush us.   They tear us   Bare and broken.   Some winters,   We need them,   This bitter fight   That only the soul survives.