Shivering forcefully in the wind,

fingers freeze as sleet falls with the rains.

A bare crawl as temperatures drop,

lifeblood flows slowly through brittle veins.

Thoughts of a chilling death distract into

dormancy as cold seeps beneath the skin.

Mother Nature won't discriminate:

Weak and strong, old and young, thick and thin,

the final test of who breaks, who bends.

All relish the life to which they cling;

ice draped limbs crack beneath slinging gales.