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