“A homeless man dies in the gutter.
A tree cracks in the cold:
A shocking sound.”

At the winter solstice, the day is shortest of all and night is longest. It can also be a time of bitter cold. The wind blows with a frigid ferocity, cutting all before it. Snow and ice become deadly. Those who are homeless die of exposure. Even the mightiest of trees can split from the drop in temperature.
The sound of a tree snapping is a sudden slap.
The horrors, the tragedies that this nadir brings! Winter tortures the world with icy whips, and those who are weak are ground beneath glacial heels. Sometimes, we dare not even lament those who died in the onslaught of winter, in the fear that tears will freeze on our faces. But we see, and hear. Huddling closer to the fire, we vow to survive.
No matter how affected we are by misfortune, we must remember that this is the lowest turn of the wheel. Things cannot go forever downward. There are limits to everything – even the cold, and the darkness, and the wind, and the dying.
They call this the first day of winter, but actually it is the beginning of winter’s death. From this day on we can look forwards to warming and brightening.
This blog will begin again in 2010.