Descend and gust and fall,

In silence and in squall,

Till every light’s obscured

And all the earth interred

By snow that covers all.

What depth of purity,

What answer to what plea

Is brought by such a storm,

In giving fairest form

To all the eye may see?

For, though the sudden cold

Seems fierce as it takes hold,

We sense within it, grace

To clarify the face

Of all that had grown old.

So, fall in flakes, descend

And to the dark earth lend

An image from above

Of that approaching love

Which comes to heal and mend.