I quit dreading November and December when I learned about winter solstice with its history, folklore, and stories. Instead I looked forward with anticipation to days getting longer, minute by minute. I began to appreciate those darker days for the opportunity to snuggle into the evenings with books and lamps and a fire.
So today is Solstice, and each day the light will linger a little longer from now until my birthday in June. I thought I'd share some photos I took at Stonehenge this past August. These were not taken at the stones themselves, but inside the incredible multimedia room in the museum. If I stood in one spot and turned slowly, I felt as if I was in the midst of the stones. People came and went, but occasionally I was alone in the room, and it was magical.
A poem I wrote several years ago seems fitting today:
Solstice
Smoke curls
and swirls heavenward
through
reaching branches,
naked white
against a dying day.
Holly and
ivy twine
through
wisps of flame and stars.
An owl
drifts tree to tree;
Coyote
sings,
a song
ancient as the mistletoe.
Spirits stir
and listen.
This night,
the mighty oak seizes the crown;
roots awaken.
The last line refers to the old story of the battle between the oak and the holly as to which would rule; holly wins the battle in June, oak wins in December.
For a real treat, listen to or read this interview with Susan Cooper, author of the best solstice poem I have ever read and which is coming out now as a picture book. Fascinating. I want this book, which I think adults will enjoy as much as children. Perhaps even more so.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
