Winter Solstice

Photo by Adriaan Greyling

For many living in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is a season of cold, dark days. And the darkest of all—the winter solstice—comes soon. On December 21st, Northern peoples around the world will celebrate this holiday, not because of the cold and darkness it brings, but rather, because of the light and warmth it promises. After the 21st, the sun will shine a little longer each day until we finally arrive at the summer solstice in June.

So bring out your candles from the cupboard, gather wood for your bonfires, and plan your celebratory feast: hope for brighter days comes soon!

Happy Solstice everyone!

Winter Solstice

by Ray McNiece

Late December grinds on down.
The sky stops, slate on slate,
scatters a cold light of snow
across a field of brittle weeds.
Each boot step cracks a stalk.
The pigments have been dragged
earthwards and clasped. The groundhog
curls among the roots curling.
Towards home I peel blossoms
of frozen mud from my pant legs
and pull off burrs that waited
for wind or the flashing red fox.
In my jacket pocket I find
a beechnut, slightly cracked
open, somehow fallen there,
and, enfolded inside of it,
a spider that unclenches
yellow in my steaming palm –
a spider that is
the sun.

From the collection, The Bone Orchard Conga (The Wordsmith Press, 2004)