SOLSTICE
and the sun stands still
above the Tropic of Cancer
before the long days shorten
(lengthen at the other pole)
earth tilted like a heliotrope
stones at Stonehenge
capturing the stalled sun
both midsummer & midnight
sacred in the old religions
still as a photograph
for this long day only
then rushing on
toward that next
Solstice:
and so we begin
an album of seasons,
their inevitable shifts
subtle or spectacular, divers
by place as by season yet always
familiar, ancient, and replete.
Midnight sacred - photo by Willy Wilson
both midsummer & midnight - Jennifer Kapala
before the long days shorten - photo by Barb Toyama