Lyrics

Once inside, you slip off the heavy coat and hang it on a peg beside the door Then, you unwrap your scarf and drape it over the coat Leaving your boots in the entryway The cabin is small and welcoming But the living room, kitchen and bedroom Just past the entryway, you find a comfortable sofa And a matching armchair A stack of books rests on the side table Next to a cardboard box holding a jigsaw puzzle In the corner of the room, a guitar rests upright on a stand Beside an antique record player and a nice collection of albums The polished wooden body of the instrument gleams in a flickering light The glow draws your gaze to the opposite wall Where blue and orange flames crackle and snap in an old stone fireplace A stack of cut logs and a bucket of kindling rest on the hearth The fragrance of the oak wood intermingles with the sweet scent of a festive pine bough Laid across the mantlepiece On a sideboard near you is an impressive selection of tea And a mismatched assortment of mugs You choose a ceramic one Which is painted with a classic winter scene A red fox trots through a snowy forest While a bird watches from above You wonder where the fox would go If it could keep running beyond the edge of the mug Out into the crisp winter night Now, it's time to pick the perfect tea There are several tins lined up on the sideboard Each one has a tiny folded paper sign in front bearing its name The first is called "Winter Wonderland" You open the tin and breathe in the fragrance of its contents First, a cooling wave of peppermint floods your senses It's followed by a touch of chocolate and a hint of vanilla You appreciate the soothing aroma that reminds you of snow falling on pine trees Carefully, you close the first tin and move onto the second "Apple Pie" Notes of nutmeg and allspice play together in your nose Along with the warming fragrance of dried apple pieces and cinnamon sticks The third tin brings a smile to your face It's called "Sugar and Spice" And smells of candied orange peel, cloves, brown sugar and cranberries Each one calls to the mind memories of winters past Time spent with loved ones or relaxing alone on a night like this After considering them all You choose the tea whose luscious scent lingers most prominently in your nose You fill a small metal infuser with the loose leaves and set it in your mug Then you pour a stream of hot water over it Steam rises from the warm liquid, lightly dampening your cheeks You raise the mug to your nose and inhale deeply It's sweet, spicy and bold After letting it steep for a minute or two, you take a sip Soon, you feel the tea warming you from inside out At this moment, there's nowhere you'd rather be This cabin is a place where your mind and body can truly rest Within these walls it's just you, the fireplace and the comfy furniture There's nothing you have to do but settle in and relax With that in mind, you make your way over to the sofa A few throw pillows are scattered across it Along with a thick fleece blanket draped over the back You sit and move around a bit Until you're in the most comfortable position The cushions are soft and conform to the shape of your legs Setting your mug on the side table You pull the blanket over you And adjust the pillows behind your back Once you're settled You pick up the mug and use it to warm the palms of your hand And then you gaze into the fire Watching how the flames roll and ripple over the thick oak logs You can smell a hint of wood smoke and hear the occasional pop and hiss As the fire burns through sap and pockets of air in the logs "There's something timeless about gazing into a fire," you think You imagine people generations ago doing the very same thing Perhaps they thought too about people who had come before them as they looked into the flames Fire stirs deep feelings within The need for warmth, community and light Sitting here, your mind wanders back through the years You consider the passage of time You think of all the people who have changed your life These memories fill you with a sense of belonging, which you cherish You have a place in this world and it's right here, exactly where you are A light wind picked up outside the cabin You can hear it whistling through the pine Snowflakes patter against the window panes Frosting the corners of the glass with arcs of white Your mind drifts with the blowing snow Over all that's happened and all the possibility the future holds As you thought before, winter brings with it a chance for new beginnings With every gust of wind that tosses the snowflakes up and down You feel a weight lift from your shoulders Your attention returns to the here and now To the cabin, the fireplace and the mug of hot tea you hold in your hands You sink deeper into the pillows behind you You feel grateful for this moment You're safe, warm and content