As northern skies go greyly dark
and days shorten,
the human spirit
lights up
in a candle, in a
diya,
in a torch, in a
flame,
in celebration.
Deepavali, Advent,
Hanukkah, Kwanzaa.
Consciousness alive
and glowing
through the winters
of our lives
within and without.
Small steady light
with a strong healing warmth
transcending senses—
as flavour and texture,
colour and brilliance,
fragrance and a touch
of frost,
bursts of joy, sounds
of laughter.
When winter comes,
light a small lamp
to remember who you
really are
and that where you
come from, where you are,
every season is glorious.
For only in winter,
is the full moon as radiant.
And only in winter,
do the conifers wear their diamonds.
The silver arms of
the birch need no adornment.
And the deep-piled
snow agrees with me.
For the moon who
cannot see her beauty
form sheets of ice—
mirror to a masterpiece
arrangement
of sky and stars
and moon,
light and shade,
black, white and
blue.
One little lamp’s
light to remind me
that if I open my
eyes, the world is beautiful
even in a dark northern
winter.
of a consciousness
recognized
once more.
The flame, the moon,
the joy
the being — one
— just one
infinitesimal, infinite
speck.
One being.
One light.
One celebration.
Deepavali, Advent,
Hanukkah, Kwanzaa.
Consciousness alive
and glowing
within and without.
Happy Deepavali!
Have a winter-long celebration!
October 13, 2006