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| December, 2005 |
The day is bright and cold
The field beautifully empty
As we move over newly frozen ground
Our darkest weeks approaching,
The longer light we all want
A full hemisphere away,
Tilting further still from the sun.
Our shortest day is coming.
But the next will be a moment longer,
And then the next another moment longer,
And on an on for half a year,
With the warmth of summer to follow.
So, take heart, dear friend,
With winter on our doorstep,
I tell myself spring will win again,
And saying so makes it nearer.
Elders in my life did their best
To teach me how to wait.
I conjure them in darker hours.
I still can hear my grandmother,
Her warm reassurances in old age
Inflected still with the lilt
Of her mother's Irish accent:
Patience brings roses.
It's true it won't be long
Until the field is filled with snow.
But have we not seen
Lavender light on the drifts?
