Last Days of Winter

In the last days of winter - 
And they are long days,
Drawn out,
Numbing;
In the last days of winter –
Even with the signs of spring,
Green shoots,
And buds;
In the last days of winter,
Time moves sluggishly,
Like ice melting,
Drip by drip.
In the last days of winter
You just have to keep going,
Even when the cold seems no less fierce;
Even when the darkness seems no less deep;
Even when the signs of spring seem like phantoms;
Even when the winter is a winter of the mind,
And seems a step behind the natural world.