THE WINTER STAR

Saint Francis watches over me
When winter comes my way
When the sky grows cold and hollow
And the trees turn bare and gray

I walk beside the ocean
And by the water, find him there
He ushers in the blue sky
The white birds fill the air

I feel him in the north woods
Where the oldest hemlocks grow
Where the shadows haunt the highlands
On lost miles of mountain roads

He sends to me the bluebirds
When the cold months take the light
The red bursts of the cardinal
When the earth is frozen white

In springtime, small pink flowers
Grow around the old stone graves
In all things, there is meaning
In darkness, doubt, and pain

He lights a candle in the dark
And speaks my truest name
His hands, they hold the brightest star
On winter's longest day

Dusk begins to settle
The yellow birds fade with the sun
The daylight, it is leaving me
The winter has begun

For now, the roses have withered
But the spring will return them to life
The mourning dove is singing
Lamenting the day's last light

Saint Francis watches over me
When the darkness grows so tall
When winter covers over me
I see the brightest star.