Snowflake

Our
words
are
snowflakes.
When softly spoken
Fill the air with sweet flurries, caressing tired shoulders
A love melting__________________frozen hearts.
Storms of stress_______________________close us away:
Harsh, careless, rude words
Build up ice-coated________________impenetrable walls,
burying lost souls under blizzard wraps
Like railroad tracks_______________________lost in snowdrifts
On some deserted__________________windswept prairie.
Speak wisely with calm, forbearing patience.
A snowflake's touch:
Precious
Or
frost
bite.

19 lines, 62 words.
Written for the December 2024 Bard's Hall, requiring a shaped poem.