27 (Queen of Ice)
O bitter light, O queen of ice, O wicked flicker
candlelight, blue snow to touch, "too much
too much," the queen would melt with my delight.
O laughing sprite, O smirking spite—icy
lips and me on fire. Heat to scald and hate
to tire, lust to lies and lies to strife,
glacial teeth meet slushy need—frost to heat,
love to sleet, and we not we just fire free.
In sleep, the cold is sorrow blind.
By day, I push the tempest, tossed.
Unto death do us part, pneumonic quickened,
queen to stricken, life to meat and meat to ice,
won't you, cold to coldest strife—stay my wife?