ANNUAL WINTER SOLSTICE POEM
Saturday, December 21, 2024 @
4:21 a.m EST
(Happy Winter Solstice to Northern
Hemisphere family & friends)
(Happy Summer Solstice to
Southern Hemisphere family & friends)
Winter sunshine often glides
On beams astride a tilted Earth
Sun at its southernmost post
North Pole plunged in darkness
But it is the moment of the
Solstice (meaning “Sun Stands Still”)
When it stops, reversing
Moving northward, a path to fulfill
Ancient calendars in Mayan Tulum
And Salisbury’s Stonehenge
Honored this scientific moment
Capturing the speck of light
Before the longest night
And we continue this in modern times
Among the mammals hibernating
The serpents brumating
We humans manically do our preparations
Baking, cooking, buying, greeting
Dancing, singing, talking, eating
Because we understand how fleeting
Time is for all on Earth
The Sun, long worshiped
Warmth and light to keep us safe
Unconditionally touching everyone
Sun doesn’t care about my autism
Sun doesn’t care about my aging
Sun is there even on the cloudiest days
Even through the dampness and haze
I greet this gorgeous, golden Sun
One of the few constants in my Earth span
Revolving around the Cosmic Plan
That is you…
(c) 2018, 2024, Clarissa Simmens
(ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Morning Sun on Live Oak
