Wintry Heat

First published in "On the Rusk"

Its surface is bathed in pearly light
The air encased by its glistening glow
The wind blows delicately, soft and frosted
until it's felt- the first silvers of snow
The terrain has been transformed from green to white
the sky from aqua to a stormy gray
crystals cascade from above-
the clouds which shield the golden rays
Like sugar- white, sweet and smooth
that coats the branches of the lime green trees,
creatures retreat into their refuge
fear keeping them hidden- of the icy freeze
Within a few hours of the magnificent snow,
on the earth, has been embedded a crust
that shifts and dances like dunes of sand
pirouetting with the glacial, biting gusts
As the clouds parted, sunlight began to shine,
as the snowfall began to slow its pelt
winter defrosted, began to crawl away,
sunshine dominated, the chill began to melt
The air is sweltering, brimming with heat
turning my face crimson from peach
the ground glaring, vivid, radiating warmth,
to cool down- the world would vehemently beseech
Birds fly about, despairing, craving a sip
of the invigorating water, which is now a dearth,
creatures roam for miles, longing to gulp
from ponds, which are now sparse on the earth
The sun beats down with quelling force,
amber commands the sky, rather than blue
The air is unmoving, humid, sultry,
animals covet for the breeze that once blew
Then, gradually, the heat starts to drop,
the shivery atmosphere commences its unfurl,
creatures return to their caves in relief,
as the word is soaked in the light of a pearl