Thursday, December 23, 2010

Thursday Poem - At the Winter Solstice

Owl hoots three times in the far woods,
fair warning for all small creatures
scurrying to their burrows.

Are we not still and always
those crouching figures
who flee the heavenly alchemy?
Three times in the crackling air,
Owl hoots for us.

*
Wind plays the drums of snow...
staccato taps,
crescendo off the roofs,
flourish of shuddering branches.
Ice snaps its castanets,
its daggers.

Atonal music of the darkest days
needs the most fearless,
subtle listeners.

*
Those strumming flamenco
fingers of sunlight
are a long time away from now.

Now we go comforted
in dreams and ceremonies,
flaming our star-speck candles,
raising our voices against that other music,
drowning out the forever
at night’s heart.

*
Look up! The wheel is turning.
The spectacular crowd of stars,
the tangle of dimensions
jostle for our attention.
Salute the birth of everything holy.

This beautiful poem was written for the Winter Solstice by Dolores Stewart Riccio and was published in her exquisite Doors to the Universe. It is posted here with the kind permission of the poet.

5 comments:

Cathy said...

wow.

I'll be rereading this poem again and again.

thank you.

Laura said...

beautiful poem...thank you for sharing this...so much audio-imagery with the visual...like a movie in words! (wait, I mean "real life" as though I'm there with her...lol)

Cindy said...

Lovely. Than you....

the wild magnolia said...

The poem was a joy to read.

The photo is beautiful!

Thank you!

Cindy said...

Of course, I meant...Thank you.