Winter is the fourth of the Sisters

                                                                   Sister to Spring, who is new and fresh with a hint of lust in the air

                                                                   Sister to Summer, who is playful and in her prime

                                                                   Sister to Fall, who is older than Spring and Summer and more wise, but is more beautiful

                                                                   While Winter herself is very old and withered

                                                                   With no leaves left on her trees’ branches and most of her animals sleep

                                                                   She is pale and empty as a desert; she has almost nothing to look forward to

                                                                   She is a holocaust aftermath, corrupted and sinister

                                                                   She gives no sympathy for the weak and is a killer

                                                                   She envies her Sisters, and that’s what drives her empty soul for revenge

                                                                   Getting back at the world for creating her is all she wants

                                                                   For if you listen to Winter as her wind blows over you, you can hear her moans and cries

                                                                   There is only one thing that makes her vigorous with exercise and excitement

                                                                   That is to have her children slide down on her snow

                                                                   Frolicking and making snow angels is one thing that makes her smile

                                                                   That’s when the clouds part, and the Sun reaches out and touches you

Dakota Marti is an eleventh-grade student at Mid-Buchanan High School in Faucett, Mo.