the bitters of winter
                      hath called this very day
                               upon tender shoots of grass
                                                        its coldness did lay

 an icy unpleasantness
                            which remorselessly kills
                                               whatever lies under
                                                                ­   its acrid chill

winter shall reign over
                      these parts for many a day
                                               and its frosty cover
                                                               shall have its willful way

the warming feel of summer
                        gone for some while
                                        replaced by winter's
                                                           harsh freezing bile