Closing the Windows

The thing is
you don't realize
this is the last time
you will close the windows
this year.

You close them on a day
when the sun is sharp
like angels' wings
and the air bites your cheeks.
You're not thinking
you should turn the stubborn locks
to seal out the fingers of winter frost.

You close them one afternoon
and then it has been two weeks
or four
before you notice
you have been closed in,
and closed off,
and the long, gray time has begun.