winter solstice

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Noon in Bethleém’s cave:
light dispels misty chill
illuminating the ancient altar of our ancestors’ worship.

Walls remember
pilgrims awaiting sun’s rebirth
parfait-achieving Cathars
holy grail carriers.

To think she’d rested here
on the shortest most glorious day of the year.

photo credit: grillou.com

15 thoughts on “winter solstice”

  1. Gorgeous imagery and sentiment. I’ll ‘fess up that I had to google parfait-achieving Cathars but I’m glad I did as it is part of French history that I know little about. Plus, I like learning new things! A creative response to the prompt.

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  2. I love the line “Holy Grail Carriers,” and it’s great that you used the prompt to pay tribute to the winter solstice.

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    1. Thanks so much! A bit off season, but I’ve been wanting to write about this cave for a while and it was the first thought I had in response to the prompt. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  3. Oh, those crazy perfectionistic Cathars. Wow! I didn’t expect to be taken back to the Middle Ages. Enjoyed the mysticism in the language. I’m educatedly guessing that the ‘she’ in this poem is Joan of Arc, yes?

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