in this dark –

she who would Shelter you in the Wind

has come Full Circle; she no Longer

brays at the Moon, now she curls Under the trees

and whimpers -- her Hope

is sullen and unfocused since

her blood boiled and Evaporated

in the fog leaving her

exhausted and in Pain; she, the

driven Mother

of this Earth has cried

too many times as We watched her faint

in the Night air -- She

will hibernate

Now until the Winter leaves Us lurching

through Sleep forward

and conjoined --