Solstice Commends (Cross my heart...)

It is fall

for most of December.

Still autumn

when ornaments and bulbs

are sorted and reaffixed

to tree limbs, their worn edges

catching the light from new strings.

It is still November

when the sun begins to set 

shortly after noon.

No wonder winter feels so long, 

all the tell-tale signs

start too soon. 

Christmas and all its adornments,

unpackaged and wrapped

before the season

even begins.

Auld lang syne

while the rosebushes

are still in bloom. 

I used to think

winter wasn’t for me, 

but this fall changed me.

I used to ache for spring

this time of year.

I would cross my heart and pray 

the things I put in the ground

would stay alive.

Now I cross my heart 

and hope to die. 

 

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