485 - Light in January

I feel I’ve reached the top of a dark hill,
Night at my back, dawn’s red glow visible
Ahead, far ahead, leading me on till
I start the steep descent, almost stumble,
And, although still cold, smiling now, hopeful.
Thank God for eyes and ears and all my sense,
But there is nothing more likely to kill
Than smothering darkness, consuming absence
Of light shining in bright magnificence.
Christmas and New Year, a collective pill
We take for the headache caused by the dull
Dark days December draws down, deadly, dense.
Come, January’s germinating chill,
Your cleansing cold, your new light less feeble.
Wed 2 Jan 2008