William Shakespeare on Winter

“How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!”

“Here feel we but the penalty of Adam, The seasons' difference, as the icy fang And churlish chiding of the winter's wind, Which, when it bites and blows upon my body, Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say, "This is no flattery."”

“When icicles hang by the wall,    And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, And Tom bears logs into the hall,    And milk comes frozen home in pail, When blood is nipp’d and ways be foul,    Then nightly sings the staring owl,              Tu-whit; Tu-who, a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. When all aloud the wind doth blow,    And coughing drowns the parson’s saw, And birds sit brooding in the snow,    And Marian’s nose looks red and raw, When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl.”