I enjoy reading this poem so much. Pitifully I fail to express myself in English well.
The language is really very beautiful and vivid, such as

twig gripped in icicle fingers,

Yeah, I know how our fingers can be frozen straight in the cold winter, just like icicles hanging down from the roof.

exhaling winter’s joy
of renewal from decay.

God, I love the term "renewal from decay" which reminds me of a Chinese song:
烈火烧过青草痕
Grass ruined by a raging blaze
看看又是一年春风
Will thrive in the next breeze.

I notice in ancient Chinese poem, there are also the "assonance" and "alliteration" except the common "end of line" rhyme structure. For example:
菡萏香销翠叶残
H/an D/an X/iang X/iao C/ui Ye C/an
the same "an"; same "X"; same "C".

More interestingly, it seems as if that I had really seen a cute and smart 5-year-old child was playing pooh stickes with such a great insight in his mind. Oh, it is just our great Hive Poet himself!

Thank you so much again. You have no idea how your poems light up my boring days!