Winter

Now wintertime has cast its cruel grip
On house and barn, on field and meadow too,
On every dirty town’s street, now made new,
On car and lorry, aeroplane and ship.
The stream is frozen, so too is the drain
Through which the kitchen waste was once expelled;
Hot flames must ape the distant springtime’s meld,
That all the world might come to life again.
We’ll don our furs and heavy duty wear
To keep our toes and ears and fingers warm;
We’ll search the shed until we find a pair
Of skates, then linking friendly arm in arm,
We’ll head towards the iced up river, where
The ice lies crisply cold and smooth and calm.