Poem For December - "How Still, How Happy!" by Emily Brontë

On this first day of Winter:

Portrait of Emily Brontë by her brother Branwell Brontë.

The following are the last three stanza's of Emily Brontë's poem "How Still, How Happy!"  It was originally published December 7, 1838.

It is but thought - full many a night 

The snow shall clothe those hills afar 

And storms shall add a drearier blight 

And winds shall wage a wilder war, 

Before the lark may herald in 

Fresh foliage twined with blossoms fair 

And summer days again begin 

Their glory - haloed crown to wear. 

Yet my heart loves December's smile 

As much as July's golden beam; 

Then let us sit and watch the while 

The blue ice curdling on the stream -