Winter Solstice: The Longest of Nights by Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg

read by Sara Hoerdeman

Winter’s breath,
Calls in the darkest of nights –
Beauty black,
Shortness of light.
The sun kisses the stars,
The moon embraces dark –
Join now, circle of women,
Our light we now spark.
Circle of shes,
We who gather in singing,
Bring forth the night-
In our humble existing.
We sing of the barren branch,
The cold winter wind rising –
The darkest of nights,
Our intentions now binding.
Fire that burns our souls to blend,
The darkest of nights –
Will soon slumber and end.
Each day will bring us,
To the beauty of light –
Ending the longest winter night.
In its dark beauty,
We usher in the light.

The Crone of Winter, by Molly Remer

read by Laura Foutch

Just for right now,
Let the swirling soften.
Exhale into the day,
Wherever you are,
Whatever is happening.
Allow a cloak of comfort
To settle across your shoulders
And enfold you
With peace and restoration.
Draw up strength from the earth
Beneath your feet.
Settle one hand on your belly
And one hand on your heart.
Feel the pulse of the sacred
You always carry within.
Breathe in
And know you are loved.
Breath out
And know you are free.
Trust that you are carried
And enfolded
As you go along your way.

excerpt from “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman

read by Lori Lawson

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice.
We are striving to forge a union with purpose,
to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors,
characters and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade.
But in all the bridges we’ve made, that is the promise to glade,
the hill we climb. If only we dare.

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith we trust.
For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption we feared at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert, How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be.

And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country,
our people diverse will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it..

Winter Solstice by Lawrence Sail

read by Gene Zielnicki

This is the light least known,
Not flashily occulting
Or fixed in the sea, steady,
But a deep fire hiding
Like a peaty secret
Sown at the core of a heath,
Ready to burn for as many years
As it takes
The friable ash collapsing like calcined bone.
This is the true north-light
By which the eye perceives the dark dazzle of the earth;
By which the heart believes
It is warmed, and not consumed.

Loosin Yelav, traditional Armenian folk song arranged by Paul Carey

translation read by Caitlyn George

The moon has risen over the hill,
over its summit, its red, rosy face
brilliantly illuminating the earth. 

O dear moon, with your dear light
and your dear round and rosy face. 

Before, darkness reigned covering the earth;
but now the light of the moon has chased it away
into the dark clouds.

Their Light Will Find You by Donna Ashworth

read by Julie Lieving

We are all full of light.
Light that no-one can actually see,
but we feel it.
We go through life radiating this light,
and shining it on those we love.
And when someone we love leaves, it’s true,
our world really does fall dark.
Because that light source we couldn’t see,
but we felt, has gone.
And it takes a while,
it takes time for them to settle somewhere else.
But I promise you, that light, it shines on us again.
From somewhere very different.
And we can’t see it but oh, we feel it.
Hold on through that dark period my love,
their light will find you.
And when it does,
it will never go dark again.

I Dream of a Better World by Jocelyn Soriano

read by Susan Dorbeck                  

I dream of a place where I can be understood, a place where finally,
I can be who I really am.
I dream of a place where people need not be told anymore what to do,
because they already know it,
because truth and love have come at last upon their hearts.

I dream of a place where people can be brothers,
where people can be friends,
where people can remain to be a people of the sun.
I dream of a place where I can paint the world
and sing to it my songs;
where I can dance when I’m filled with joy;
and where I can cry when I can no longer hold back my soul.

I dream of a place,
where we all can dream,
and make those dreams come true;
where clouds are as soft as cotton candies,
and where stars are as fireflies that roam the night;
where children
Laugh, and play, and run;
Where we don’t have to worry
and where we don’t have to wait
for a brighter tomorrow, and a happier today.

Where we can all walk down life’s road in one direction,
walking hand in hand, and side by side.
I dream of a place no further than a step,
of a world, no further than a kiss.
For this world is all we need to have
if we could just
Forget, forgive, and believe.

She’s Magic
read by Linda Tillis                  

While sleigh bells sparkle through the night,
And reindeer dance in frosty light,
There’s one who keeps the season true—
Through every list and late-night brew.

She steadies hands when tempers flare,
Finds mittens, hope, and extra flair.
She wraps the joy, repairs the seams,
And quietly fuels a million dreams.

When snowflakes fall, her fingers fly—
The season sings, though none know why.
The secret’s safe, as old as frost—
The magic’s hers; the credit’s lost.

Its About Time

read by          

Every December, the checklists bloom—
Groceries, gifts, guest room, broom.
The rest of the house stays calm and bright,
While someone’s wrapping through half the night.

We deck the halls, we fix the feast,
We do it all (and sleep the least).
We soothe, we wrap, we tie, we tape,
And smile through every kitchen scrape.

But maybe—just this once, this year—
We pause the rush, pour something clear.
Forget the frenzy, skip the stress—
And give ourselves the gift of rest.

Original Poem
Written and read by Kaitlyn Gibson                  

to come

Make Christmas a Verb by Mark F. Stone

read by Jenny Covert

For many, the gifts are the be-all and end-all:
the big screen, the tablet, the Barbie and Ken doll.
For me, gifts I get are like ice in the sun.
I cannot recall them. No, not even one.

How did I find a true way to remember
the import of each twenty-fifth of December?
The quest to acquire is an urge one can curb.
The lesson I learned was: make Christmas a verb.

Knock on the door of your neighbors who deal
with aging and loneliness. Bring them a meal.
If you have means and you live in fine fettle,
drop off some greens in that little red kettle.

Visit our vets who are hurt and express
your thanks for their service as they convalesce.
Deliver to others a luminous glow.
The gifts you will cherish are those you bestow.

Miracles by Susan D. Birch

read by  

Let your footsteps be gentle on this Earth,
Let your mind discern what has and has not worth.
Let your heart hold true to humanity,
Let your eyes rise to the stars with humility.
Give, don’t take.
Love, don’t hate.
When all are caressed in a gentler light
Of a mellow moon in a fearless night.
When your soul can embrace all as one,
Then the wars shall cease
And we shall walk this Earth in peace.