<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Winter Solstice</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">My Lady Darkness walks the hall, revelry over and all but she asleep.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">A stirring within recalls her to tomorrow's approaching labor; once again her shining child will arrive.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">My Lady Darkness wraps herself in midnight and dreams a lullaby,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">combs the aurora from her winter-black hair, and slips off her dancing shoes.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">She stoops to smoor the fire, banking each smoldering ember under a blanket of ash 'till not a glow escapes, then picks up her wooden spindle.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Tomorrow the glory, the golden light, will turn the year toward brightness, </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">as she spins the heavy darkness onto the distaff of time.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Draped in sable, ripe with light, our Lady turns and turns, </div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">crafting the shadows into a cradle to rock the promised child.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">Around, around in her labor she whirls,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">turning the midnight into the dawn.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">She is dancing in the Darkness,</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">dancing <i class="">in</i> the Light.</div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Jane Mickelson</div></body></html>