12/21/2024
Today is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Did you know that solstice comes from the Latin 'solstitium', bringing together the words sol (sun) and sistere (to standstill)? So let's savour a moment of stillness today and enjoy this poem...
❄️Winter Solstice❄️
Come once more, when all the rest have gone,
When blossom, leaf and fruit are packed away.
Come when slanted winter light holds sway.
Come amid bright silence. Come alone.
Come as you are, steeled against the cold.
Tread soft and slow among the naked trees.
Breathe the sparkling air with sabbath ease.
Come let this sparing time ingrain the soul.
Come the day the setting sun hangs fire,
Before its quiet climb that turns the world,
While the coiled spring is tightly furled.
Come, keep watch and catch this wild desire.
Come, and bring a new-made apple tree,
A callow stem with ancient root in union.
Dig deep, heel in, and there make your communion.
Come back, and sing the song in every season.
