Poetry Sunday

Today, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice - the first day of winter, the shortest day and longest night of the year. And, as you might suspect, there has been a poem written about it ...

Toward the Winter Solstice

by Timothy Steele

Although the roof is just a story high,
It dizzies me a little to look down.
I lariat-twirl the rope of Christmas lights
And cast it to the weeping birch's crown;
A dowel into which I've screwed a hook
Enables me to reach, lift, drape, and twine
The cord among the boughs so that the bulbs
Will accent the tree's elegant design.

Friends, passing home from work or shopping, pause
And call up commendations or critiques.
I make adjustments. Though a potpourri
Of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Sikhs,
We all are conscious of the time of year;
We all enjoy its colorful displays
And keep some festival that mitigates
The dwindling warmth and compass of the days.

Some say that L.A. doesn't suit the Yule,
But UPS vans now like magi make
Their present-laden rounds, while fallen leaves
Are gaily resurrected in their wake;
The desert lifts a full moon from the east
And issues a dry Santa Ana breeze,
And valets at chic restaurants will soon
Be tending flocks of cars and SUV's.

And as the neighborhoods sink into dusk
The fan palms scattered all across town stand
More calmly prominent, and this place seems
A vast oasis in the Holy Land.
This house might be a caravansary,
The tree a kind of cordial fountainhead
Of welcome, looped and decked with necklaces
And ceintures of green, yellow, blue, and red.

Some wonder if the star of Bethlehem
Occurred when Jupiter and Saturn crossed;
It's comforting to look up from this roof
And feel that, while all changes, nothing's lost,
To recollect that in antiquity
The winter solstice fell in Capricorn
And that, in the Orion Nebula,
From swirling gas, new stars are being born.


Have a good day, and enjoy that longest night of sleep. Christmas is almost here.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

P.S. - Ass Clown of the Year Voting Update: the votes are coming in regularly, now, and so if you don't want to miss the chance to vote for the year's most despicable Ass Clown (or even if you've already voted and want to vote some more ... Chicago Rules, remember?), get your votes in soon! Remember, voting closes at midnight on December 31st, and we'll announce the winner on January 1st. Here are the top vote-getters thus far:

ISIS/"The Islamic State" is in the lead with 17 votes;

Dick Cheney and the Republican Congressional Leadership are tied for second place with 10 votes each; and,

The Taliban is making a strong third place showing with nine votes.

Let your voice be heard! Vote now. Heck, vote tomorrow, too. Rules and a recap of the start of the competition are here. And don't forget that we still have one more biweekly Ass Clown to be named on December 26th, in case you want to hold a few votes back.

Go for it.

Bilbo