Solstice

A moment awakened to darkness while tiny lights fill the branches on the pine outside. A moment inhaled in silence, the longest night. A burning match lights innumerable candles. We celebrate here the splendor of dark as a gift given beyond the light of day; toast the good cheer; bless the bountiful meal; view as a movie the glowing red coals in the last fire of the Solstice. Oh, winter night I do love you from the inside apart, from the ice on the window to the warmth of the car as goodbyes move slowly down Walnut Street.