‘The Natural Gifts of December’

Dec. 22, 2025

By Patricia Ranzoni

Patricia Ranzoni.

The pond is solid memory now.

Even the sun appears less necessary.

                                            All is locked. At rest.

Think death if you must you would be wrong.

                                            Footprints.

The not human and the human seeking

the not human. Seeking

                                            to read black tracks

pressed in long darks

and arabesque messages

                                            frozen in time the way

a Canadian grandmother

reads the tea keeping secrets.

The way violet roots wreath,

                                            unseen but known,

and a fire Christmas Eve

requires we wood gather now.

—Ranzoni was Bucksport’s poet laureate from 2014 to 2025.

The Rising Tide highlights artistic endeavors from our community, and showcases them here in our “Create” section. If you have something you’d like to submit—a poem, a picture of a painting, a photograph, a music recording—send it to info@risingtide.media. We’d love to publish it and give you an audience for your creativity.