The heart of the Sun beats as ardently as ever
though the Earth plays the coy coquette
averting her face from the intensity
of his smoldering gaze
lingering for months in a sidelong glance
as she slowly turns in her measured pace
and we
perched upon her cold shoulder
of 45 degrees north
a halfway house of latitude
midway between equator and northern pole
the temperate zone, presumably
despite our intemperate extremes
alternating torrid and frigid
the tropics and the arctic
visit us in their seasons
but never, it seems, together
the arctic now pays its respects
cold rushes in from northern reaches
storied land of the midnight sun
now the land of the midday stars
what a sequenced spectacle
to watch the stars wheel
endlessly across the velvet sky
hour after hour
night after unending night
as the earth pirouettes
beneath one’s feet
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
chase each other’s tails
around and around the star of the north
polar bears, indeed
but here
the wind rises with the Sun
and whale sounds erupt
from beneath the frozen lake
as the waters beat against the ice
breath condenses upon eyelashes
ice crystals dangle before ones eyes
illuminated by the sun in perfect orbs
like Christmas ornaments not yet put away
a sprig of Arbor Vitae lies upon the path
tree of life, messenger of life ever green
This calls to mind one of my favorite things to say, but it’s so quaint I can only say it once a year, so here goes:
Glove-a-lees are lovely
but I’m smitten by mittens
Ethereal Nature 
Oh wow! Thank you for sharing these. Stay warm!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad you like the photos!
So awesome!!! An excellent write. Love it, and the pictures as well. Is that you? Brrrr! Cheers, my friend!
Thanks so much, Angelina! Yes, that is how I look at -15*. 🙂
🙂 Not jealous of that temp.
Although, judging by the forecast, we are about to drown in my part of California 😦
Blessings!
Oh – more heavy rain on the way – I hadn’t been paying attention. Blessings and safety to you and your loved ones!
Most appreciated… sharing your talent warms my heart and stirs my imagination!
Thank you, Annette. That is so kind!
Lovely prose! I think I’ll just keep our 30 degree temps today and be happy it’s not worse!! My, what “fluffy” eyelashes you have! 😀
Thank you, Lori! Yes, I rather got a kick out of my frosty eyelashes….I stopped in a coffee shop on my walk home from the lake – you should have heard the gasps from the other patrons when I came in the door. They practically cheered me for braving the cold. 🙂
Beautiful words & photos! Thank You for sharing!
Thanks so much, Kim!
Beautiful words, Cnawan and lovely photos. Your eyelashes are all snowy! Very Dr. Zhivago-esque.
Peace
Mary
Thank you, Mary – I think! 🙂 You’re the 2nd person to mention Dr. Zhivago – I better go look at some pictures to see who I’m being compared to!
The prose is inspiring, I can almost feel the frigid air. I imagine the peace and quiet to calm the soul. However I am not as brave as you, A crackling fire, a cup of hot tea and a good book. :o)
A cup of hot tea and crackling fire sounds divine…
Oh wow I love these. Wonderful photos. Hope all is well with you and your new year is off to a wonderful start.
Thanks Michelle! Yes ~ best wishes for your new year as well!
Glad the piece touched you, Patricia. A fire and a hot cup of tea sounds absolutely lovely!
Delightful! Our winter so far has been markedly different from the series of blizzards that started one year ago today, which was nicknamed “snowpocalypse” and the unrelenting frigid temps. It has been single digit wind chill lately here in the Northeast, but today many towns are hitting 50!
Thank you, glad you liked it! We’ve been bouncing around between unseasonably warm to below zero temps and are in something of a snow drought so far this winter. Not very conducive to winter sports!