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Midwinter

“O blesséd day we now enjoy, from heaven it is granted. 
He brings us bliss, He shows Himself for all our joy and worship! 
O may our Lord each one today defend us from all evil!”
—from W. Stenhammar’s symphonic poem “Midwinter”

Across the frosty fields the bleak winds blow
And bite more harshly than the year before.
On every porch, the icy patches grow
More thick, as fleecy drifts drape every door.

Long crystal fingers hang from icebound eaves
And droop from tree limbs in the gloomy wood;
Where snow and darkness cloak the molding leaves,
There, jonquils once in blooming beauty stood.

A snowy sentry guards the frozen lake;
His sightless eyes display no apprehension.
Though gripped by bitter cold, he does not quake
While standing there, forever at attention.

Soon, dawn’s first rays on leafless limbs will fall,
Which gleaming ice and pristine snow adorn,
And tolling bells to all the earth will call,
“Come, worship God upon this Christmas morn.”

As shivering winter toward the noonday lurches,
Glad sounds of singing from each congregation
Will swell to fill with joy a thousand churches
Through all the land, as choirs sing in elation.
And when night falls, a fiddler with a twinkle
In his bright eyes will play a sprightly tune;
Then joyful smiles will blot each line and wrinkle
From agéd faces, as dear hearts commune.

They’ll share in music, songs and joyful dancing
As burning lamps are brought into the hall,
And feet on fire from music so entrancing
Will blaze as winter’s dark surrounds them all.

While snowflakes fall, the countryside erasing,
The fires inside will burn throughout the night
As whirling couples turn, and children chasing
Their friends fly past, like comets, fast and bright.

When families go home, each to their nest,
To say their prayers and douse the candle’s light,
A flame will still glow brightly in each breast
Consoled by cheerful hopes that banish fright.

For in this winter scene, each shining thing—
The morning sun, the sparkling snow and ice,
The twinkling eyes, the smiles, the bells that ring,
The hymns, the lively dances that entice

Bespeak a tale too wonderful to tell
That yet must now forevermore be told,
Of heaven’s mighty triumph over hell
And life’s defeat of death, so dark and cold;

Of God’s own glory piercing sin’s long night
With truth that melts the ice of Satan’s lies;
Of frozen souls thawed out and set upright—
Though once entombed—-who stand with flaming eyes,

No longer dead, but risen to new life,
Who hope both now and in the world to come
To live in peace that vanquishes all strife
With all the heirs of their eternal home.
Each star in heaven that shines in sable skies,
Each fire that burns in Erebus’ black mine,
Each joyful peal that quenches desperate cries
Gives echo to this tale of love divine—

A tale sent forth from heaven by God’s breath
In words that waft on streams of burning love,
Descending through the icy winds of death
To warm hearts that receive it from above:

“The Light of heaven to earth has now come nigh,
Revealed in flesh, and full of truth and grace,
His advent broadcast in an infant’s cry
His glory beaming in a newborn’s face.”

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Martin Rizley grew up in Oklahoma and in Texas, and has served in pastoral ministry both in the United States and in Europe. He is currently serving as the pastor of a small evangelical church in the city of Málaga on the southern coast of Spain, where he lives with his wife and daughter. Martin has enjoyed writing and reading poetry as a hobby since his early youth.

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8 Responses

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Inspired is the word for your majestic poem of the winter solstice and the advent of the Christ child. There is much happiness and shining depictions of the season that are fresh with feeling.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thank you, Roy. Years ago, when I first heard the rhapsody “Midwinter” by Stenhammar, I was so moved by the juxtaposition of hymn and dance. I was taken by how the work begins with dark chords symbolizing icy winter, followed by the sublime sound of rising strings giving assurance of hope in the midst of utter bleakness, then, suddenly, the lively fiddle symbolizing the ecstatic joy of a heart set free. There is such a triumphant tone in this work, I wanted to express the same thing poetically; for the image of ecstatic joy triumphing over the frozen, lifeless cold of a winter landscape seems so perfectly to symbolize the gospel message of Christ entering a dark world to bring light, life and joy to those who were “dead in trespasses and sins”– the very heart of the Christmas message.

      Reply
  3. Cynthia Erlandson

    You’ve done a brilliant job of carrying through the entire poem the imagery and interplay of ice and light; and of showing the contrasts of the cold, with the warmth that comes later in the poem. And the way you’ve built toward the climax — the tale “too wonderful to tell / That yet must now forevermore be told”; “truth that melts the ice of Satan’s lies”; and “burning love / Descending through the icy winds of death” — is beautiful. I also loved the “sentry” snowman (unless perhaps it was a statue? But I thought it was intriguing, and skillful, the way you described it without naming it.)

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    Martin, this is a beautiful symphonic catalogue of winter’s splendors indoors and out. I would change just one sound: in line 15, “pealing bells” would be better than the “tolling bells” that suggest a funeral. But let me admire another tiny touch that can carry great meaning to one familiar with a specialized meaning. You mention a single flower (the jonquil) as formerly present, because of course flowers are not blooming in midwinter. I love the “language of flowers” in which every bloom has hidden significance for lovers, and the jonquil says, “I desire a return of affection.” Isn’t this what the “infant’s cry” and “newborn face” want from the wintry world? There is plenty of mutual affection in your lovely firelit singing and dancing scenes, so much of it probably inspired by the Light of heaven revealed in flesh, full of grace and truth. But the Light is necessarily anticipated and revealed over and over again, just like the jonquil in season. Nice choice whether you knew it or not!

    Reply
  5. Jeff Eardley

    Martin, it was quite wonderful to return from a long, Winter’s walk and read this. As others have remarked, the snowy sentry is a wonderful image. I will be re-reading this tomorrow as the great day approaches. I love this. Thank you and a Happy Christmas to you and yours.

    Reply
  6. Shamik Banerjee

    I don’t think any beautiful sight or moment pertaining to this happy time of the year has gone unnoticed in your poem, Mr. Rizley. You have captured every possible detail, and I like the part that says that a flame will keep glowing in our hearts even after the outer candle is snuffed out. The concluding stanza feels like grace showered. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

    Reply
  7. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Martin, your poem has me shaking off my woes and reveling in the blessings of the season. God has given us the greatest gift we could dream of… it’s time to give thanks and celebrate. I especially love, “feet on fire from music so entrancing /Will blaze as winter’s dark surrounds them all.” The contrast is perfect. Thank you!

    Reply

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