The Birth of Winter
By
RD Larson
Never mind that golden leaf, the one that dangles
By a single spider thread.
Care not that the flowers have faded and bent.
Worry not that the birds have left forever.
Feel not the chill of wind from the north.
We are more, my love.
Never mind that the puddles freeze to silver
Below the dark and lofty firs.
Have no grief for the hunted stag on the run.
Wish not for the berries that grew so wild.
Bear not the loss of warm sunlight glinting
With dim and nameless fear.
Don't let the darkness into your waiting soul.
For listen to me,
I have the sight to see the future now for us.
There is more to come, more life to come.
For winter is not the death it seems to be.
Fear not, my dearest love.
The winter fire will warm you with it glow,
While I hold you close.
You will have your warm sweater knit of stories,
You will have your feet covered with words
and sonnets will hang with glory from your ears.
I am with you, my love, always.
When the tops of the trees cry in the hard wind
I will comfort you.
When the branches fall I will shield you safely.
When ice forms I will hold your hand tight
And when the snow falls we will delight.
For it is anew we celebrate.
I am your lover and you are my love, it's true.
Be calm for I am here.
Winter deals its deck when rivers roar and trees fall.
I will hide you in my arms and pester you with talk
of far away travels and sunny days on beaches.
I will coddle you, my sweet.
The dank smell of toadstools and mulch will hover,
In the midst the ferns
Snows will fall and melt and fall again.
The pious will pray and some will die,
But neither you nor I will join the others
We are earth's children.
As all living things huddle and wait for spring
We will sing and dance.
Many others will harken back to bygone days;
While others will slip into the dark to die alone.
Some like us will survive.
For winter is not the end of joy for those who love;
It is the season to celebrate!
Thanking those we love and want, we praise;
Scorning those who limp away and cry too loud,
Throwing caution to the wind we dance to music
made by our love.
And when the days get slowly longer we grin,
At the fears we hid away.
Wildly gay and running free, we drift
Like the last snowflakes, the last cold
Winds of the bitter north and east,
our heart swelling with joy and life
As we love one another.
Winter is the birth of dreams and cozy joys,
It is the blanket we treasure.
And the game we play again and again.
For winter is tamed by love and love
Foils all the fears of death and damned
As hearts swell in songs of happiness.
You are my beloved.
