On a day when the glass snow of November shrills–

Befalling upon us, jolting me with a sudden chill,

The occasional brushes of wind got out of me a few sneezes,

It seems, this year too, I have to endure the Winter’s tease,

Under Her flurry, I stood waiting for my darling,

Until moments later, when I heard her calling,

The solemn stillness of the unmoving scenery,

Disturbed — By the presence of the new beauty,

Donned in a scarlet coat, and the latest wear,

With glittering ornaments fashioning her hair,

And the sweetness of her aroma penetrating the crystal air,

Oh~! Truly, my faint of heart! Her image was as a piece of art,

Rosy cheeks, formed on the face of that beauty,

Followed by a captivating smile so merry,

A smile that breaks the Winter’s Dawn,

Chasing the cold and my worries gone;

Then she lent her hands, enveloping mine,

Showering me with her compliments before I could say mine,

In retaliation, I swiftly gave her a peck on her rosy lips,

But after a moment of recollection, I grew frozen and stiff,

My lover had ceased her talking and went into a blushing state,

And it goes without saying that I endured the same fate,

Frantic skips of heartbeats were no exaggeration,

And I feared if I had jeopardized the mission,

That is — To lend her a kiss so sudden, without admission,

But to my surprise, what happened next came right out of fiction!

My darling pulled me closer and stole from me a kiss,

“Payback”, she clumsily said, with my headspace’s amiss,

Then suddenly, we lasses both laughed off our goofy state,

And I thought to myself, “What a wonderful way to start a date”.

– Yuriko / Stu. T.H. (December 2, 2023)