To speak clearly into the dark…

Gaudete Sunday
          for FRS

Inevitable, 
the darkness of December,
but notice the sun
as it descends, how it sheds 
this sacred, deepening red. 

*

In the middle of 
the night, all that will suffice 
is poetry—to 
speak clearly into the dark—
a lantern for company.

*

In the middle of
the night, an unexpected 
snowstorm: soft sparks veil 
the streetlamp in the window 
by the bed—startle a breath.