Northern
Winter Solstice
Sol
sistere
sun
standing still
motionless
hovering
momentarily
on
its polar axis
poised
midway
between
darkness
and
light
as
if one degree’s shift
would
plunge the planet
into
endless winter
as
if one divine breath
would
blow the world
off
its perilous progression
change
its direction
turn
it
to
face
eternal
night
We
crave stillness
on
this the shortest day
praying
even
if we never pray
for
that pendulum to begin
its
infinitesimal reversal
its
slow forward swing
its
painstaking passage
towards
another
spring
Sheila
Martindale
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