Breath escapes my body,
Only to become encompassed
By the frigid, boreal winter.

I dare not sit lest my body stiffen,
And my mind bear my final moments
In ache and anguish.

The twilight holds a certain latent agitation.
Energy will seep past the horizon,
In the form of caressing rays of sunlight.

Before the world wakes,
I unravel what little protection
I had given my body against the bitter cold.

The cold stabs at my bare skin.
My legs lose feeling and buckle under me,
And the deep snow engulfs my body.

The world is embracing me,
Accepting my valiant sacrifice.
I hear mother Earth sing a sigh of relief.

I finally realized my place within the universe:
A universe which I had always
accepted as home.

It was never my home.
I was always a guest here,
Willingly invited, yet overstayed.