Solstice, North And South
Thomas Dünser
The seasons are our planets way
To celebrate polarity.
Not being satisfied with just the underlying unity
They trigger a rhythm of life
That spans from way before birth
to long, long after death.
For how could we not stand in awe
before salmon returning to spawn,
Or how the once green leaves of spring
Turning into a blaze of color
Before returning dull to the soil
The footings of the next generation
Our calendars and feasts
Are but the meaning making
That follows the temperatures.
And a solstice is but a small pause
In the billion year journey that unites us all.
And it is worthy to pause
Celebrate this moment
Where the slow change
Starts to go the other way.
Where the still to come winter
Already harbours the spring
And the yet to come summer
Already carries whispers of autumn.
And it is worthy to pause
And look at each other in this moment
For we do not travel alone
Not as individual
Nor as species.
And it is worthy to pause
As Change, that ultimate causal reality,
Taps us on the shoulder
Across the realms of the physical
And our social constructs.
So, in unity will all life
Let’s pause.
And celebrate
And be aware of the great polarities,
The great circle
That all life is intertwined with
That all our life is intertwined with.
Let’s pause
And drop into that stillness
With the ultimate statement
Behind every word,
The other pole of every poem,
And pause for just a few seconds
In Silence