An Australian Christmas
The most remarkable thing is the silence.
It’s early, but except for a few cars
making mandatory trips to gather at Christmas
the silence is almost complete,
as if we’re all meditating on the profound magic
of this time in this place.
There has been an apparent shift in what
Mother Earth does for us at mid-Summer:
this is the second year of cool air
and dark, cloudy skies, which we welcome.
At this time the sun is at the height of his influence
but we have been saved his dreadful fire, at least today.
The sun will decline soon, and the days shorten,
and today we will gather in our families,
somehow reflecting the story we’ve had
for so many generations, of a young family
gathered to give birth to their promised Son
and, just for one day, we will hope to be one together.
