A Poem on Candlemas

Being a warm-weather lover and living in the northland is very difficult this time of year. I wait and watch as the days, bit by bit, grow longer. It is never my best time, but combined with several losses and some deep uncertainties, this year is worse than usual. Abbey of the Arts periodically posts an evocative image and invites readers to submit a poem. I wrote this poem on Candlemas, Feb. 2nd, the day that is halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

O God,
How long...
this winter of
my heart?
The sky is gry
and my feet walk
on ice.

Passing the shop
Sweet purple shoots...
Spring hope.

O God,
The ground is crisply
Cold…White…Frosted
and numbing ice

O God,
My dreams are gone
Cold…Lost…Broken
and slippery Ice

O God
My world is numbing
Cold…Torn…Dark
and muddy ice

O God,
My heart is weeping
Cold…Loss…Fear
and frigid ice

Are you sleeping… absent… dead?
O God of Cold and Ice…?

O God,
Somewhere inside,
Sweet…Spark…of Life
and Purple Hope.

O God
I search for you, ,
I pray… Seek… Long
For spring


In me.