Our Yearlong Twirl Around The Sun
A poem to celebrate the arrival of winter ❤
Snowflakes have taken hold of the Earth
We are in the last steps of completing
Our year long twirl around the sun
As the dance of one more year
Comes to a graceful end
Warmth is now valued more
Truly felt and newly cherished
In these months of frost and icy winds
Warmth is present
In the nest of cosy blankets we wake up to
In the steaming mugs of milk our hands cradle
In thick sweaters, gloves and cakes of cold cream
And in the gentle embrace of winter’s soft sun
But warmth also lies in places more invisible
Like sitting in the warm grass and talking to your friends
And seeing the hours fade through the sky
In deepening shades of afternoon to sunset
Like having an all night movie marathon
Staying awake with your little sister
Seeing Elsa and Anna create magic together
Through symphonies of grand winter music and talking snowmen
Like walking the city at night, and watching the strings of golden lights
That descend from the brick buildings you stand beneath
Falling towards you like so many magical forest vines
Like finding and grasping
The warm hand of a friend to hold
When you discover that both of your own
Have suddenly turned into ice without warning
And then watching her bicker and try to slip away
But when she sighs and relents in the end
You find yourself warmed thoroughly
Through not just your hands but your heart also
Moments later of course
You will prank her further by placing your cold fingers
All around her neck all of a sudden
Just the way everyone learns in third grade
To give someone the real gift of winter
After which you are best advised
To absolutely start running for your life
Do you remember more things that we used to do?
How all the kids coughed out white fog breaths
And then pretended to waive off invisible cigarettes?
And how we drew every kind of drawing imaginable
On our fogged up bus window panes in the winter
Making smiley faces that slowly melted as the air condensed.
I remember myself just this way at eight years old
I was one of those little girls
Who wore a bright red scarf over both her braids
And kept swinging about her water bottle everywhere she went
Smiling through a heavy double smear of Charmis cold cream
For my mother would absolutely refuse
To send me to school without this everyday
She was determined that I should shine
Like a little winter sun in class all by myself
Winter brings out all these fond memories for me
In the everlasting warmth of these invisible pictures
I wonder at the unknown moments to come
As new winters create new symphonies
As adult life unfolds before me in coming years
As all of us keep completing the final steps of our dance
In our year long twirls around the sun.
