As I was writing the previous post about the Wisdom of the Crone and the Winter goddess An Cailleach, I came across this beautiful poem by Joyce Rudd on what is for me the true essence of Winter Solstice . . . the deep reflection of Winter, our connection to its stillness, the solace and rest found in its darkness . . . yet with the hope and glimpse of the coming Spring.
“Winter’s Cloak” is from The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons by sisters Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr in which “using reflections, poems, prayers, and meditations, they explore the relationship between the seasons of the earth and the seasons of our lives.”
Winter’s Cloak
This year I do not want
the dark to leave me.
I need its wrap
of silent stillness,
its cloak
of long lasting embrace.
Too much light
has pulled me away
from the chamber
of gestation.Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean into
the abyss of my being.Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter’s passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, may you too find shelter and solace in Winter’s passage.