Sonnet To Winter

Br – r – r – r – winter, zero weather, ice and snow,

     You make me draw myself into a knot

     And long for weather that is something hot;

Why can’t you be decent, I’d like to know,

And not close in upon a fellow so?

     Br – r – r – r – Your breath cuts like a knife – ker choo!

     I’ve got a dog-goned cold because of you,

And all I do is hack and cough and blow.

Say, winter, won’t you please go take a sneak

     Somewhere where you are needed more than here,

     And keep away for many a long year;

My ears are nearly frozen, and my beak

     Is frosted sure. Say winter, please advance

     And give a frozen neighborhood a chance.

Dec. 17, ‘04