My breath escapes,
rises in a column before me,
dissipates into the sky,
as if drawn away
by the frigid night air.

It wafts skyward,
spirals and swirls and fades,
drawing my eyes
to follow its ascent
upward, ever upward.

As I watch it dissolve,
melting into the sky,
I behold the spread of the heavens,
stretched before me:
a priceless tapestry of light.

Pinpricks of brilliance
strewn across a canvas
so exquisite that the night
crystallizes my tears
before they can even fall.

I blink, forced to lower my gaze
from the shimmering splendor above.
I shiver in the cold air, and smile,
the stars overhead mirror the crystals
in my eyes, both now frozen in my gaze.