Their cadaver trembles with ferocity ineffable
Their frostbitten hands tinged a dull cobalt
White puffs of warm air escape from a cracked maw
Their eyes plead with me, aching for release from the frigid air.

I shroud them in a blanket, thick and fleeced
They envelop themselves in it, vice like
Digits grasping its edges, white knuckled
Spine hunched over, chest pressed firmly into their thighs

They still shudder, ice coats their wiry hair
Their flesh is rosy, tears fall down their face
The droplets freeze in icicles, plastered on their cheekbones
Desperation radiates from them, begging for warmth

I pile on more coverings, by the dozens.
They sink deeper and deeper into their cacoon
I can't harness sunrays, can't stop the blizzard,
Hypothermia is inevitable, creeping in like a snake

Shelter is lost to us, we are blinded by sleet.
Feet buried and heavy in mounds of slush
Stuck in time, I continue to try to cover them
Desperate to aid them in this harsh winter

So wrapped they become, that their face is unseen.
Nostrils and lips hidden behind cloth and mesh
The shaking ceases. still, solid.
Their wrappings hard, frozen and stiff.

Hope floods my heart as I assume success
Until I peel back the fibers and see them
Their twinkling lifeless eyes and blue face
Lungs collapsed from lack of air, gone. Lost.

I let myself cry.
© melluvssunsetswrites