Well, this seemed appropriate for today, seeing that it's rather snowy. So here's one that got rejected from Hard Freight (PSU Altooona's literary magizine). Don't get me started on that whole affair. Oh, well, I like it anyway, even if the literary people don't. So too bad for them.

A Winter's Walk

The air holds that sharp, brittle quality;

Icy knives slash through clothing and flesh as if nothing;

Bitter cold seeps into your very bones,

Making you feel like you’ve never been warm,

Making you forget what warmth feels like.

All recollection of comfort fading, now less than a memory,

Glacial winds whip your face stealing all breath from your lungs,

Wiping your mind of all thought,

And from you hands and face all feeling.

No coat, nor hat, nor warm thought will banish this chill.

You long to dash back inside to a glowing hearth and a rosy smile

With four strong walls and one radiant heart to protect you from the cold.

But go you must when you cannot stay,

So you lower your head into the biting wind

And move your feet foreword through sheer force of will,

Survival your only thought, memory your only companion.

Buttery light spills from the windows behind,

Lying like a halo in the wind-whipped snow,

An unwelcome reminder of the warmth so recently left, but so distantly recalled.

Your breath comes in short puffs of white steam;

The powdery snow crunches loudly under your booted feet,

As you turn away from the comforting light.

Harsh moonlight crystallizes on the frosty path ahead,

And with a deep, heart-felt sigh you start down the desolate path.

So begins your long and lonely trek into the silent, empty, winter’s night.