For people all around the world, December is a time of preparation, anticipation, and wonder. Whether we’re celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Omisoka, or no holiday at all, December nudges us to reflect on what has been, look forward to what lies ahead, and open ourselves up again to the possibilities of magic and miracle.

Emily Dickinson seems to capture the spirit of early December perfectly in this mysterious little poem. As the cold settles into the northern hemisphere, may your own days “before the ice” be filled with wonder, too.

Before the ice is in the pools

by Emily Dickinson

Before the ice is in the pools—
Before the skaters go,
Or any check at nightfall
Is tarnished by the snow—

Before the fields have finished,
Before the Christmas tree,
Wonder upon wonder
Will arrive to me!

What we touch the hems of
On a summer's day—
What is only walking
Just a bridge away—

That which sings so—speaks so—
When there's no one here—
Will the frock I wept in
Answer me to wear?