The night is closing in/The clouds are frozen still/ The birds are feathered down/The churches ring the hour/Where once there was a cheer now stands a sorry crowd/Across the frozen lake/Beneath the tattered flags, a carnival of skates/The scissors scratch their names/Where once I held your hand I cannot bear to stand/This city is a cauldron of blackened snow and strangers/I moved here from the country/I didn’t know the danger/I’m haunted by the bottle/I’m haunted by the angels/In letters from my sister, she asks me how I’m feeling/I say that I am better but I lie in every letter/I have moved into the margin/I have moved into the shadow/Move closer to the fire or else you’ll meet the ghost/I loved you like a brother/I loved you more than most/But still you left me vacant/ Still you left me cold