you are the new season

like the dark soil holds the seed, like the light holds the transformation

DEAR WINTER, you have been like stepping into a dark forest, quiet and still.

Covering my steps with heavy snow, the path barely recognizable but I notice familiar landmarks from all directions.

In winds of change, I have been both the tree branches swaying and falling, and the dried leaves blowing and going.

Settling in the dark, my body at rest with new rhythms circulating in my breath.

To know the dark, guided by the bat and its wings. To know the light guided by sun warming stones, awakening my bones.

I visit the desert, and evergreen elders offer their resin and aromatic oils. We breathe strength and resilience.

I arrive home to peach trees awakening. Their frozen branches remind me of all that has passed. We let go and prune together.

DEAR WINTER, we are wind-blown, sun-scorched, water-drenched, and heavy as earth.

Like the fire holds the flame, and the flame holds the warmth.

Like the dark soil holds the seed, and the light holds the transformation.