Love child
gatekeeper of years
portal to winter season
arriving from great travels around the sun
aligning all living species
with a steady drum beat call
to set our tables and intentions
to receive you
As festivities meet midnight
an arresting hush permeates over all
some escape your descent
the clutch of your dark night
washed-out days, wrung to dry
as your raw temperament withholds nothing
Others are faithful hosts
leaning into the moon
stoking the fire girth
blistering beet roots
with red stained fingers
cracking pomegranates
tending pots of humming stew
preparing for your keep
while you prepare for ours
Your newborn light is kind
emerging from perpetual night
illuminating a new way
a charm all your own
softly bathing dormant pastures
blanketing sleeping seeds
beckoning an invitation
You wink at the rhododendron
buds bound and erect
in the wake of your rousing storms