Poem: The Winter Sleep

The Winter Sleep

The earth pulls up its silver quilt,
Tucks roots and rivers into hush.
Even the mountains hold their breath
As if afraid to wake the cold.

Windows glow like careful thoughts,
Candles learning how to last.
Time slows its restless pacing
And chooses stillness for a while.

Under snow, the seeds remember
Every color they will be.
Dreaming is a kind of work—
The dark rehearses every bloom.

So sleep, says winter, sleep and keep
Your quiet strength beneath the frost.
What rests is not what’s ending—
It’s only gathering its light.