Over the Hill and through the Woods (Attys)

        Snow and Rose

Slow, the cold days by the hearth.
No one knows a bear's love
Or the comfort of curling close to soft fur
While the winter rages, blowing

White snow drifts under the windows.
His heart thuds thick
Inside his barrel chest. His soft rumbling voice
Thanks us for kindnesses bestowed, a little warmth
Each night by the fire — a lick of soup, a cup of wine —

       and in this way,
       nights turn to
       days of spring —

Red roses blooming among their thorns.
Once we said we would we would share everything,
Such, the innocent promises of youth.
Empty are the days without snow. Who'd have thought she'd

Run off with her bear of a man turned prince. Leaving me with the quiet,
Endless as leaves falling in the forest, the loneliness
Dark and deadly as the chill ice of winter.

.

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Author's Note: "Snow White and Rose Red" is the lesser known of the Snow White stories, in which the two sisters let a talking bear enter their home and sleep by the hearth. He becomes a part of the family and returns their kindness when he turns back into a prince. He marries Snow White, and Rose Red marries his brother, which I find suspect, for what really do we know about the brother?

In this case, Rose is simply left behind entirely.

I purposefully left the middle stanza of the acrostic uncapitalized to help show the transition from Snow's voice to Rose's. Does it come across?