July 18, Monday

Winter befalls, and icy sheets

cover the ground in silvery pleats

A gale of frost, a squall of chill

dreary gloom and shadows fill the lifeless land.

Bit by bit, ice creeps across the fountains of summer sunshine,

leaving cold shards of saddened bleakness that the sands of time,

patiently and passionately,

is melting, ever so slowly.

"To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt."