Winter Solstice
it all comes back to this
the place where the orbit around the flaring sun began
we float on mercury, revolving slowly
suspended on a cloud-reflecting fluid
looking for a new magnetic north
is the old blue planet still unchanged?
the poles may have drifted in a year’s time
or suddenly twisted, and snapped shut
each to its opposite
are we rising? or falling in celestial silence
or immobile in the center of the vast orrery
surrounded by machinery with its own divine itinerary
helplessly watching the vibrating trails left in air
like swirling places where birds left holes in mist
it all comes back to this
©1997 F.J. Bergmann"Winter Solstice" appeared online in Prose Toad.