Good morning…
“The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun,” explains Wikipedia. “The winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year.”
Sitting outside on this dark, windy night, I hear my computer “ding,” signaling the arrival of the perfect poem.
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Walking into Winter Solstice by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Because it is dark
I walk in the dark,
walk with no moon,
walk with the chill
of the measureless dark.
There is peace that comes
from letting the self
be with the world
as it is, and tonight,
it’s a dark world,
a world where I cannot see
far ahead, a world
of silhouette and suggestion,
a world that seems
to cherish whispers
and relish mystery,
a world where
the invitation is
to walk in the dark
without wishing it away,
without championing its opposite,
the invitation is
to be one who learns
how to live with the dark.
******
Might we learn to be ones who learn how to live with the dark, without wishing it away? From the first book in the Bible we are taught: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22, NIV).
Settling into the natural rhythms established by God, why not relish the mystery of tonight’s winter solstice?
…Sue…
