“Be both soft and wild. Just like the moon. Or the storm. Or the sea.”

— Victoria Erickson

While taking pictures of my tree this year, the moon snuck in. I am so glad she did. To have my tree that reminds me of hope in the middle of winter and the moon that reminds me of the cycles of life in one picture makes my heart so very happy and full.

I wake and spend
the last hours
of darkness
with no one

but the moon.
She listens
to my complaints
like the good

companion she is
and comforts me surely
with her light.
But she, like everyone,

has her own life.
So finally I understand
that she has turned away,
is no longer listening.

She wants me
to refold myself
into my own life.
And, bending close,

as we all dream of doing,
she rows with her white arms
through the dark water
which she adores.

~Mary Oliver

May you have hope in the middle of winter, may you be surprised by nature, and may you embrace both your softness and wildness.

~Staci Lee