Darkness

This is the time of darkness.

The sun is low by three p.m., setting by four. You drive home in darkness. The night seems to last forever.

Usually, I love this time of year. It’s the way things are supposed to work. Darkness is supposed to come, to give us a rest from the light.

This year, though, the dark seems full of sadness. It’s hard to find gleams of hope. The shortening days seem a metaphor for the sadness of the world.

But the solstice is coming. Soon the days will begin to lengthen, as light re-enters the world.