The light goes so fast the last day of the year--Winter Solstice. We are drawn deeper and deeper into the dark to the source of returning light.
“Today I wove a wreath of bone and fir
And filbert withes: twined in sacred holly,
Incense cedar from an ancient tree.
I wove, affixed a star, and spoke a spell:

“Let this circle stand as the Gate of Winter,
Sure passage to the days of lengthening light.”
And then I whispered names in the fragrant bough,
Lacing love like a scarlet ribbon through the fronds.

Long I wove and dreamed back friends and kin,
Each great soul calling forth the sun.
I thought at last, “My life here is not done,”
And some bright star rekindled from within.”

--Sandy Brown Jensen