One of Damaris’s friends sent this poem just in time for Dec. 20, 2010, too late to publish for the Solstice. But it is fitting now, for we are still seeing snow and feeling cold as the days graduallylengthen. JJ

For those of us who still go out, and yearn
For signs of sun-return,      
On Winter Solstice, magical,
the balance-pause at end of breath,
It seems that we should brush a nest
In snow, for pinecone eggs to rest,
Catch hands with trees, or whirl,
Until a spark blows heat within the breeze.
We living things, of matter made from light,
Might trust in stars.  This very night,
Reach out in rays of warmth and earth-affection.
Preface sun with sun-conception.