An icy mantle

A pure white mantle blotted out the world I used to know,
There was no scarlet in the sky nor the hills below,
gently as mercy out of heaven came down the healing snow.

The trees that were so dark and bare stood up in radiant white,
And the road forgot its furrowed care as day forgets the night
And the new heaven and the new earth lay robed in dazzling light.