After weeks of intractable fog,
after passing showers that grayed over Christmas

with occasional bursts of sunshine before
the next set of showers oozed in,

weather on the move at last, for the moment,
not a socked-in shroud of cloud.

At last, to walk outside on a clear night after
The Day to see, even in our well-lit city,

a few winking stars and a half cupful
of smiling moon on its way to the western horizon,

lifts my heart for no special reason
other than, despite everything,

this is still the season of joy,
and I am reveling in it.