Winter Solstice In the night, the fallen leaves are bright with frost. Though I am dark, I hail the mark of future spring. This Solstice joins the ring of yearly quarters, when night is long and stark. But on the morrow light will start it flight Toward summer, and cold will lose its hold Upon the Green. Now lean and short, the light Will grow each day, becoming fey and bold. Remember frost-bright beauty and its cost, O' child, when day grows long and evening mild! The year is crossed, and winter is not lost When it has run its course of chill and wild. And this is terror and a beauty strong: In but a year, the night again is long. copyright E Glas Durboraw, December 21, 2001