A Fitful Veil

A wanton wave of pallid hail descends
from ashen skies. Its drifts are carried through
to every nook and peak by lofty winds;
abundant, jutted, powdered sheets imbue

terrains in bright white hues, as structured flakes
display arrays of lustrous reveries.
This frigid reign persists. A frozen lake
reflects a fervid glare, as if to tease

a place where sheens and gleams can shine as one.
But blankets bearing flame-lit crystals spell
their end; their flimsy layers come undone,
as landscapes well in scintillating swells.

A realm left bare, with gifted streaks of gold,
is lesser for the loss of winter’s hold.