Happy Solstice!
The Shortest Day
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!
-Susan Cooper.
I love this poem, and think of it every year at this time as the days get longer and the light claims victory over the darkness...as well as my dear young friend Ailsa, sometimes known as tattermuffin, whose anniversary it is. Have a wonderful day, dear heart!
And oops, I wish I knew how to edit the size of the art...LiveJournal has changed their setup...