Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.

— Hans Christian Anderson

Bare
Trees yearn.
Setting sun
Whispers farewell.
Fall sleeps and winter stirs.
Winter Solstice parties
Shine fairy lights on all who dance
And sing.

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Note: This poem is a concrete poem. The poem takes a shape related to its subject matter. The Christmas Tree tradition is a lovely way to celebrate the longest night, with lots of twinkling lights, inside and out. Historically, pagans and pre-Christians decorated at midwinter with evergreen boughs. Decorating a tree became a popular Christian tradition in Germany in the 1800’s. Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert, later made tree decorating popular throughout the world.

The Winter Solstice in my neck of the woods is Sunday, December 21, 2014, 6:03 p.m. EST. North of the arctic, you get no sun at all, and south of the Antarctic Circle, they have the Midnight Sun, or 24 hours of sunlight. Either place is too cold for me. I’ll take my 4 p.m. sunset.