Crinkled leaves float remorsefully through the air
The touch of their brown-skinned homes suddenly a vague memory
As they plunge deeper
Toward a bleak white sea
In their cold graves,
They lie hopeless
Watching the creek’s tumbling waves turn to ice,
Like Medusa’s victims morphed to stone

The bright flowers darken,
And the shining green grass follows their departure
While amidst all, the sanguine sun burns bright,
Oblivious to the life deteriorating below,

All beauty is lost

The white swallows all,
Leaving a blank, clean canvas
Emitting the shine of opportunities
For new creatures and colors and life

A boy and a girl stumble clumsily through the forest’s aimless path
Giggling nervously
And clutching each other close
Getting lost in the electrifying touch of each other’s skin

They fall to the ground,
Spread their arms and legs
And paint their figures in the snow
Mimicking angels from the heavens

They reach for one another’s fingers,
Link them closely,
And on their faces
Rosy-cheeked, blue-lipped smiles appear,

“Beautiful!” they declare, throwing their heads back,
Gazing at the indigo, infinite sky,
Oblivious to the life and death
That lie beneath them

All beauty returns.