HARVEST by Ruth Calder Murphy

I’ve suffered, for many years, with a sunlight deficiency condition…

It leaves me fatigued and prone to depression – especially during the winter months. This poem visits some of my feelings at the turning of the year from Summer to Autumn and Winter, my resolve to embrace the seasons and to impute sunshine and warmth to my life, even during the heart of the Dark.

Harvest

As the days shrink

and the nights invade the space where

they should be,

I will reach

back to the heart of Summer

and bring,

cradled in my heart,

a single Solstice Sunbeam.

I will grow it,

nurture it,

feed it with candles

and fragrant oils from tropical flowers,

Yoga-stretch it

and clothe it in colour

until,

in the depths

of Winter’s ink-black gaze,

I reach my arms wide,

laugh aloud

and with the power

of equatorial days,

blaze;

my spirit bright,

defy the night

and with Spring in my heart

and Summer in my belly,

remove the season’s bushel

and shine my light.

It has grown fat

and blooms happy

and will bear me

all the way to Beltane -

to dandelions

and daisy chains.

Before the days shrink

too far into night,

I will harvest

the light.

~

Ruth Calder Murphy is a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of one published novel, “The Scream,” several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. She is passionate about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website here, or on her Facebook page. Her latest book is available on Amazon here, and here. 

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