Outside taking tiny steps  putting pressure on the ice  watch the whiteness spread  then disappear when I move on  careful  cautious steps in heavy boots    walking on ahead  you pause to catch a moment  see winter wrap the world  in a veil of white silence    this place -  where the earth gives the illusion  it has stopped turning    Inside  warmth fires the colours  cracked  wood  turning burning orange  sparks off light  shining in our eyes