The frosted air wraps the world in stillness, As winter’s breath blankets all that it finds, The echo of silence, profound and deep, Awakens the thoughts that winter unwinds.

I wander through snowflakes, delicate lace, Each flake a story, unique and unbent, In this icy domain, I seek warmth, In the heart of the cold, my spirit is sent.

• Anna Akhmatova