Poinsettia, taken December 2009 at Mitchell Park Domes, Milwaukee
Tomorrow, December 21 marks one of my favorite holidays — the Winter Solstice.
Waverly Fitzgerald is my favorite resource for honoring life's seasonal rhythms with heart and soul. This is a poem I found last year from her School of the Seasons website.
Winter Solstice
Thinking only makes the heart sore. – I Ching
when you startle awake in the dark morning
heart pounding breathing fast
sitting bolt upright staring into
dark whirlpool black holefeeling its suction
get out of bed
knock at the door of your nearest friend
ask to lie down beside ask to be held
listen while whispered words
turn the hole into deep night sky
stars close together
winter moon rising over white fields
nearby a wren rustling dry leaves
distant owl echoing
two people walking up the road laughinglet your soul laugh
let your heart sigh out
that long held breath so hollow in your stomach
so swollen in your throatalready light is returning pairs of wings
lift softly off your eyelids one by one
each feathered edge clearer between you
and the pearl veil of day
you have nothing to do but live
by Jody Aliesan
Grief Sweat, Broken Moon Press 1990
P.S. If you are looking for a beautiful solstice song, I'd recommend Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Come Darkness, Come Light".