Winter Solstice

     The long dark night

bears down on me

as heavy as

my old wool coat.

     The shortest day

bundles me up –

long underwear,

hat, gloves, scarf,

stiffened jacket crackles

in the frosty air.

The sun casts my shadow

wan upon the garden path.

     Winter colors –

grey, brown, dark green –

shall wear,

       not tomorrow,

             soon,

                     the yellow of the daffodil.

by Karen Laslo 12/97