Imagine a day that is six hours shorter
As high as the summer sun rises at nine in the morning
As high as the sun gets at the noon peak in December
No more the summer sunlight between 9 AM and 3 PM.
That is the winter solstice here
Forty-one degrees north of the equator
The mid day heat and light gone south.
Now the long months of winter night.
We set our candles out in the dark.
We cut the evergreen and bring it inside
The smell of balsam reminds us of spring
Seen through the orange dusk and frosted glass.
The noontime declination a mere twenty-four degrees
The night at fifteen hours almost twice as long as the day.
What we feel as the season slips into ice
The numbers measure objectively.
Sunrise 7:15 AM. Sunset 4:30 PM.
Let there be a few brief hours of bright sun
Slanting through the bare trees
Keeping memory and hope alive.
The birds come to our feeder hungrily.
The winter ducks arrive on the ponds and bay.
These are our companions for the season
Bundled warmly in their soft down.
