Heart of the Winter
Xi Yao Liao
The snow falls descend over Herod Point
As I watch with a sober placid eye
For in my heart, I feel an emotion rise up
A strange warmth
That is so special
Only certain things that I hold dear can cause it
From my heart into my head
And into the rest of my body
As my body could tell that quite clearly
Winter has finally come
The joyous season has arrived
And a strange, empty, desolate feeling of comfort I revel in
Engulfs my within
Filling my insides with that amazing feeling
A gentle breeze blows about me
Reminding me that it is always far less cold when the snow fell
It wraps a smooth, cold hand about me
That completes the feeling
The feeling that clearly speaks of winter
And I take a deep breath in
And feel the ice-cold air inside of me
Reminding me of the winter air I'd huff
Wandering about Manhattan back in my childhood
During the winter holidays
Up, and down the chaotic city streets
Although the air is purer here
Not of smoke, and the food carts that lined the city streets
But of sweet, salty ocean spray
That blew off the waves around here
Into my lungs
And I watch as my breath condense
If I exhale through my mouth
Looking like smoke
From a cigarette that wasn't there
And I sit on the shore,
Watching the cloudy, grey sky become blue
That signalled the fall of the early evening
As the light faded out
The dimming a signal to turn on the room lights at home
And I see myself do so later back at home
As I continue watching the dusk fall from my room
And I think to myself
About this feeling
That only comes to me this time of year
A feeling that can only describe
Still yet clearly describes
That this is the season of winter
