the purging storm

sitting where we've met so many times before

leaves and life once kept our encounters hidden.

now winter's death has stripped limbs bare

ripped to the ground lay nature's curtains.

and here i am much like the trees surrounding

laughter and life once clothed me from head to toe.

but love has escaped as the thief of my own concealment

leaving my messy nature utterly exposed.

my feeble skin is a lousy cover from the heavy rain 

soaking my already saturated soul.

a mere satin shield for the piercing darts of the wind 

penetrating the target painted on my core.

unyielding are the wind and the rain

weathered and eroded now lays my beaten heart.

and in rushes the freezing cold

which immediately evokes cursing.

its bite and sting are certainly not welcome

so i fight it but find myself defenseless.

i must surrender and submit

to the sovereign source of the storm.

and soon i am overcome

by its wondrous effects.

a beautiful blanket of snow 

now cloaks my once naked heart.

its wounds are healed and its cracks mended

now glistening white, made pristine and pure.