What is winter?

When the geese are flying south And the sky is grey, my dears, Close your eyes, and lift your nose; Listen with your careful ears. Feel the winter coming on, Hear it in the crackling trees; Note the crisping, quivering wind Sharply snapping at their leaves. Feel it on the windowpanes – Chilly glass on fingertips – Mark the biting of the air, Heated breath on numbing lips. See it in the early eves, In the glowing sunset where Shadows of the naked trees Rattle in the biting air. Watch the nuthatch and the wren; They know it is time once more To abandon careful nests, As they’ve done each year before. Let it rest upon your face, Let it reach and pull you in. See how pretty nature is When she ushers winter in. ~ Barbara Vance Excerpt from the poetry collection “Suzie Bitner Was Afraid of the Drain”