Winter Solstice
Note: I’m not sure what happened when I posted this before, but it didn’t save my changes and put in a bunch of subscribe buttons. I apologize for the double post. I deleted the first one.
Over the next few weeks, I am updating my Substack with poems that I published on my blog. I’m not sure why I stopped sharing over here. Life, busyness, who knows! Either way, I hope you enjoy them.
This first poem comes after my last post here. It seems strange to post about the Winter Solstice when we recently celebrated the Summer Solstice, but maybe we could all use a bit of cold right now!
As the Solstice dark nears— even Sol turns in early to avoid the ice blown wind. Seasonal affective— she settles down in, each day grows more dim. On Winter Solstice dawn we kindle fires to honor her, light candles to encourage her— hold space to help her rise. Slowly, she reappears— something we never rush— because healing takes honest time. Warm yellows upon cold blues, out from the slumbering depths she yawns, stretches anew. Smiling above the horizon her new energy folds the dark— our clasped hands never part. Her vibrant light continues to grow as our glowing love does too— warmth upon our goosebump skin. She’s now brimming with pride and we dance away the cold— our thoughts toward the coming Spring tide.
It is such a dark time of year in many ways. The actual Winter Solstice brings the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. That is because the Earth’s axial tilt, or obliquity, positions us further from the sun. It is also cold and we tend to stay in.
It is a time of inner reflection. The year is coming to a close, and we consider what we have or have not accomplished. We may be withdrawn between holiday festivities. Some even experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) due to the lack of sunlight, such as myself.
With this poem, I tried to capture all of that by anthropomorphizing the sun into someone who is becoming withdrawn and depressed. When we provide space and give her time to heal, her inner fire grows. Soon, she finds herself again and rises, growing and sending out her love.
I hope you enjoyed that one! Keep an eye out next week for the next poem.
Thank you for reading.