The shortest days.

by Dan Dial

The snow lay soft upon the boughs,

Breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty.

The air so fresh and clean.

Like lemon zest with scintillating touches of cinnamon.

The swirling flakes dance and twirl in the shuttering light

As they make their slow descent,

while the wind caressed one’s cheeks.

The northern realms of this vast world, 

nearing their shortest days

Turn a verdant and multicolored world

into shades of green and grey.

Yet,

In this darkest of times a snowflake falls,

Then another and again another.

Until the sky is glistening, reality and fantasy

Dance in a waltz so graceful and magical

That even the wildlife sit up and take notice.

It is always at such times, when two worlds collide,

That we ascend to the heights and all is possible.

That is what I wish for you this year as the darkness settles in for a stay.

I wish you magic and fantasy and mystery and joy and peace and health.

And above all, love.

~

Dan Dial was born in Anchorage Alaska, moved to Presque Isle, Maine when but a babe, then on to Texas and back to Presque Isle, Maine. This is where he started his school years and stayed through high school. Perhaps it was these early moves that created the wanderlust that remains with him. He has been writing prose and poetry for many years and feels he may hold the record for number of “no thanks” to his many submissions. He co-wrote “A Trail of Two Brothers” with his brother Doug, but he asks that you don’t hold that against him. He lives in Middleburgh NY with his beloved, Laura Lee Daisy Wyman.