Bienvenido el Verano

I live through the winter

Hungry

Bone-chilling cold

Killing tree and flower alike

Making the earth hard

And impenetrable

Except for a very few

I wait longingly

For the change

Too long in coming

Where I can feed on warmth

And gentle rain

Watching life re-emerge

Ready to begin

A new cycle of life

Only then

In bright light

And long days

Do I, too, awake

And begin to feel alive

Once more