Winter Solstice 2000

in General, Poetry

This sunrise births Winter, a dawn cold and crisp,
whose cloud’s crimson birth-rags herald both hope and risk.

For as with all Dark Times, on this year’s longest night
some friends lose their way and are gone from all sight.
What comfort and succor when darkness enfolds?
Do shopping and eating bring joy to our souls?

A raucous compulsion screams: “Consume! More! Again!”
“Find wholeness,”  Peace whispers, not without, but within.
I know not what others may find to inspire,
when our lives auto-pilot and wear grasping attire.

For me, now and on all Dark Nights, Hope is seen
amidst flickering candles and boughs evergreen.
Reminders of values more precious than cost,
and that love (fleeting treasure!) must be nurtured or lost.

So for Peace to be born, I must clear it a nest
where past demons now live, and herein lies the test.
For to kill them means naming my faults, as I’ve learned:
I must see, name them clearly, then forgive each in turn.

Not a battle with cannons or glorious fame
but the spoils of this battle bring intimate acclaim.
For with those whom I walk in these battles of rigor,
love steadfastly deepens with evergreen vigor

And so this night flames of both candles and Hope
will be lit in my home/heart as a blessing’s invoked.
Asking guidance and wisdom to help find the way
of love’s peaceful calm ‘midst the turmoil each day.

This Winter’s reminder: that rebirth will follow
Dark Nights of the soul, if I work and don’t wallow.
Each day and each way, then, may love’s might be born
in all hearts who seek peace in the promise of morn.

 

Copyright December 2000    Cal J Domingue