NBA Winter Solstice Virtual Poetry Reading

People have gathered at this dark time of year for millennia. Whenever people gather stories are told. 

Still today, in some parts of the world, poetry readings are an important part of any winter solstice gathering. 

It is in that spirit that I share some of my picks for a virtual reading, right here at NBA. 

Read a bit out loud. You are part of it!

Here is today's selection.

Winter's Cloak by Joyce Rupp, Macrina Weiderkehr

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.

Do you have a favourite winter poem?