I hate winter,  I say, glancing out the window on a snowy day.
Time is still
Everything is static
All that lives is suffocated by the sharp white chill.
She whips her head around to stare,
flinging about her raven hair.

What do you mean?

As the window rolls down,
I can feel winter's howl.
The lake freezes over, too thin to skate.
The sharp gale fills my lungs,
producing a burning I hate.
My ears are filled with growling wind and the sound of breaking ice,
Trees that were once flowery are now bare
as an empty paradise.
A thick layer of snow has fallen down on the earth,
Trapping the red roses stuck underneath.
But worst of all,
Winter is like a cage we can't escape
Freezing everyone and everything in a barren, frosted landscape.
She stops the car on the side of the everlasting road. 

We step into the smothering, slushy snow.
I look up to find trees all around,
Hulking, twisting, and overwhelming
Covering tiny me twenty feet down.
Look, says she, pointing toward the sky.
I see nothing at first. We wait and wait until I hear her cry:

There! Up high, I see it, on this 
Snowy winter day.
One little bit of color
Bringing life to a landscape of gray.
Something that lived that wasn't swallowed
By the icy world,
A small red cardinal flew among the bare branches.

What do you mean by this?

The lake freezes over, but the fish still swim beneath the surface.
The wind is refreshing and energizing
To our lazy atmosphere,
Its strange song a curiosity for us all to hear.
The trees aren't scary at all,
But a home to the loyal winter birds and fowl.
Is the snow really so futile?
No,
It is a blanket, guarding the ground beneath us
Until spring once again comes to greet us.
Do you see the grace of the delicate snowflakes?
Do you see the angels made by the children
On the white and fluffy surface?
Winter is not a cage, but a time that makes us stop and think,
Providing room for hope
And giving us appreciation for the warmth of spring. 

We walk back to the car
I look toward the barren trees,
Having found new appreciation for their bareness,
And this
Snowy winter day.