Crystal Drops

Deep in the lonely woods of despair,
Empty trees stand forlorn,
Crippled and crooked as if with a crick,
Their skin pallid and frigid
In the silver of the moon.

Wisps of faint cloud
Appear at every sigh,
Then fade away
Without a trace
At every hope lost.

My feet shuffle on aimlessly,
Numb from wandering in the cold,
For my path is now hidden
Buried beneath the snow
And if I cannot find the way
I may not last the night.

I looked up at the starless heavens
Save the pale and ashen moon,
Barren branches blocking my view
Of the fragile glow of light.

But then I noticed along the boughs
The sparkles of crystal tears,
Holding frozen stars fallen from the sky
Embellishing the shroud of darkness.

I watched as one melted
Into a silver drop,
And saw it fall...
A marble of diamond
Forming a fine dimple
In the white blanket below.

One by one they melted
And one by one they fell,
Each making a little hole
Each vanishing the snow.

So closing my eyes,
I leaned back against a tree
And slipped my hands in my pockets.
I will last the night.
I will wait it through.
For the drops of hope will reveal the path,
And the drops of hope will bring morning.