Solstice Weather

fire above, thunder below

Solstice Weather — Photos by Jonathan Potter ⓒ 2024

The weather is endlessly
fascinating in its changes
from the sputtering rain —
the splat of fat drops on the windshield —
to the frayed hem of cloud cover
on the golden horizon

as the days of December
dwindle down to deepest darkness
and the brisk quietness
of the expectation of the snow.
You find yourself walking along
the river with your mother

and your daughter’s dog pulling
you along, leash taut and straining,
because the weather changed
from drizzling rain to solstice sun
at the end of the shortest day,
the stinging rays struggling

across the earth’s curvature 
to reach your face and cut across
your eyes, mercifully,
a blade of light from its furthest point
cutting the tumor of darkness
from the weather of your soul.

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