light against the dark

Winter Solstice ’12

morning breaks with a flurry of things to do,

presents to wrap, cooking to move forward,

this and that to get ready for one thing and the other,

outside, as the day begins to come upon itself,

yesterday’s drizzly clouds, drowsy with a mildness to the air,

have flown away and wind blusters the trees,

as the Sun slowly rises above my neighbors’ house,

squirrels scamper in the high trees

as if to be first to welcome and celebrate the Sun,

they leap from branch to branch and scamper after each other,

the birds flit here and there on their own morning chores,

the wind serenades us on our deep pure chimes,

it’s the last half day of school before Winter Break,

the kids all a-buzz with candy and gifting,

with connecting and with saying goodby for now,

we mark noon of the Solstice out by our Sol Pole

with energetic chants of 

“Winter Solstice, Winter Solstice,

Light is little, dark is mostest. . .”

and the clouds break enough to let Sun shadow Pole,

afternoon opens a space big enough for a movie,

and we adventure with Bilbo and the dwarves,

wind gust after gust braces us with cold,

and the last light of the darkest day

peaches the horizon’s clouds

and then releases them back to grey,

a quarter Moon is high in the sky,

though this is to be a night for darkness to rule,

as dusk deepens the day toward dark,

no squirrels or birds seems to still be out,

the advice from the day?

“time to hunker down,”

so instead, bread making, candy making,

and a country ham call to me,

and Christmas lights resist the calling dark.

by Henry H. Walker
December 21, ’12