Various ducks on the wetland at Curtain Pole Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee. I particularly like how they appear in puddles of light on the water. December 2022 by Ray Zimmerman.

This story began in my journal. I went down several Rabbit Holes as I explored the midwinter holidays and the significance of light in each. I also spoke of lunar and solar calendars and the Julian vs. the Gregorian calendar. Here is a more succinct version.

I recently learned that St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated on December 13th, which was once the day of the Winter Solstice. Thanks to the Gregorian calendar, the Solstice is now later in December but the Saint Lucy’s Day remains on December 13.

Unfortunately, she has been removed from the Solstice, a celebration of light returning with lengthening days. Her name means light and she is believed to have worn a wreath of candles on her head to light her way. This left her hands free to carry food to persecuted people.

I attended two celebrations of the Winter Solstice this year and the return of the light was prominent in each. At one, we celebrated with stories and poems about this return, but at the other, we celebrated by walking a labyrinth.

The Labyrinth is a walking meditation. One must follow the correct path to reach the center and return to the entrance. It has a long history as a spiritual practice in several faiths ranging from Christian to Pagan.

I first walked a labyrinth at the Scarritt-Bennett Conference Center in Nashville and composed the poem at the end of this story while staying there to attend the yearly Southern Festival of Books. I read from a chapbook at one of the festival sessions. While there, I composed the poem at the end of this story.

Since then, I have walked labyrinths at several locations, primarily Churches. I know of two labyrinths in Chattanooga, but there are likely more.

The Labyrinth I walked on Saturday, December 21, was a temporary structure, laid out with tape on a large cloth. The lights were off in the room but candles illuminated the path. I remembered the song “Walk in the Light,” which I learned while studying at a Quaker college years ago.

Having finished that labyrinth, I walked an outdoor Labyrinth and visited a Yule Log fire. I observed a tradition by writing a prayer on a slip of paper which I fed into the fire so that it would ascend with the smoke.

I returned to the indoor area and found pages with reproductions of Labyrinths that one could navigate with a pen. There was even a butterfly with a labyrinth on each wing. There was a small labyrinth carved into a wooden square. I traced that one with my finger.

As I left the church that hosted this event, I noticed some words prominently displayed on the front window. A variant appears on their website, “…we acknowledge that our church sits on Cherokee, Mvskoke, and Yuchi Land.” Now that is a place-based faith.

With the arrival of Christmas, I am reminded that many holidays bring a celebration of light at this time. Advent candles are lit at churches on Sunday and many churches hold Candlelight Christmas Eve services.

This year, the beginning of Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights, coincides with Christmas Day. That is not always the case since Hanukkah is set by a lunar calendar. Hanukkah has no connection to Christmas and its celebration is nothing like Christmas. But it is noteworthy that lights are important to the holiday.
Whatever tradition you celebrate at this time of year, may you walk in the light.

Walking the Labyrinth
October 2013

The path of the soul is not linear.
It spirals like the turns of this maze,
outlined with bricks on their sides.
Like time, it circles back,
passes by starting points.

I turn left, one hundred eighty degrees.
Not exactly the way I came, this path
to the center, where there is no Minotaur.
My dragons are all in my heart,
slain or otherwise.

The first wall outlines a square
which no paths cross.
Is this square sacred ground,
reserved for shaman, priestess,
and holy man?

If I stepped inside where no tracks appear,
would I transport to another place or time,
reappear burned to ash by sacred Geometry?

A friend asked a transit driver
in Nashville's less sacred geometry,
"Is this my stop?" Her simple reply,
“Either sit back down or get off the bus.”

​From my latest book ​https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/product/its-just-a-phase/.

Some days I can see the Tennessee River from my back deck. 

I am in no hurry to lose the red, gold, and brown that shades the woodland in late autumn, but I also look forward to a view of the river. Barges chug north against the current and flow south. Then the greenery of spring fills the gaps and the river is out of view.

There is a spot nearby where I can see Big Frog Mountain in Cherokee National Forest regardless of foliage, at least on clear days. The view depends on the weather rather than the foliage.

A little mist hides Big Frog, and more obscures the mountain leaving Missionary Ridge in view. It’s a handsome ridge, but it has a bloody history. Confederate forces retreated to Missionary Ridge after the Battle of Wauhatchie and the Battle at Lookout Mountain. They mustered a brief resistance there before retreating to North Georgia.

Fog played a part in the battle at Lookout Mountain, famously remembered as the Battle Above the Clouds. The name made sense to me when I saw the mountaintop above a valley obscured by fog due to a phenomenon known as a temperature inversion. One day I left my home on the mountain’s side and drove downhill into the fog.

Recently, the fog continued for several days, obscuring even Missionary Ridge. At first, I thought the ridge had moved closer, but I was seeing the seldom noticed Stringer’s Ridge, now home to a park. The fog that obscured one ridge brought the other to my attention.

I have driven into Cherokee National Forest and explored the trails there. I have driven the road atop Missionary Ridge (named for a historic mission to the Cherokees) to view the dogwoods in flower on many spring days, but I have never explored Stringer’s Ridge.

Stringer’s Ridge has also seen historic events unfold. It overlooks the Moccasin Bend Archaeological District, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the river where Civil War sites with earthworks and redoubts played a part in the war. Moccasin Bend is also home to Native American artifacts as old as the “Paleo Indian” period. Archaeologists have found evidence from the Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods.

The rich heritage of this location also drew treasure hunters looking for everything from musket balls to grave goods. A local Native American told me that he had helped refill several hundred grave sites that had been opened and looted there.

Now that repatriation is moving forward I have learned that some tribes are reburrying returned artifacts. I hope they hide them well and avoid another cycle of looting.

Today’s essay started to go one place and ended in another. Richard Hugo described this phenomenon in his book, The Triggering Town.

My book, It's Just a Phase is temporarily out of stock at the publisher. Check out the other fine books from Walnut Street Publishing. https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/

This post previously appeared in my Substack Newsletter
https://rayzimmerman.substack.com

It is always good to find help along the way. Here are a few that I find particularly beneficial.

Resources for Writing and Drawing
Tell it Slant: Writing and Shaping Nonfiction by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola.
This book is an excellent resource for writing memoirs and nonfiction. The authors offer great insight into the writing process. They begin with exercises to bring memories to the surface and continue through crafting the work. There are numerous books on crafting your writing, but this one offers some great generative ideas.

Craft and Current by Janisse Ray
Each chapter begins with a short essay and gives the author a writing prompt. The author addresses the mystery of where writing comes from and the technique involved in crafting the work. There is an accompanying workbook. Janisse Ray is a best-selling writer with several titles in print. She also offers insights into the writing process in her Substack newsletters Trackless Wild and The Rhizosphere.

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws
John Muir Laws has authored several field guides to Western US natural areas and books on nature sketching and drawing. The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling teaches drawing, writing, and measurement (such as bird counts) to give the reader a complete toolkit. The book is voluminous enough to be daunting, but the learner who tackles one section at a time will find a way through. I found it helpful to begin with the chapter titled, “Nature Drawing.” He also appears in The Nature Journal Connection and other YouTube videos. His Instagram posts are helpful, and his handle is @johnmuirlaws.

Journaling with Nature by Bethan Burton
Journaling with Nature includes tips for nature journaling for those who journal by drawing. I first discovered Burton’s work on Apple podcasts. The episodes are also readily available on YouTube and links appear on her website. She also produces a newsletter with signups on the web page. Her fine art prints and greeting cards are available there as well. Be advised that shipping is from Australia. Her Instagram handle is @journalingwithnature.

Important Words by Bill Brown and Malcolm Glass
Bill Brown was a mentor to several Tennessee poets. I have attended a few of his poetry workshops where he distributed handouts that included several poems on the same subject, all used with the various authors’ permission. His approach was to read aloud these poems on the same topic and then challenge the participants to write a poem of their own. His book takes the same approach but only used copies are available now. The book is a great resource and its use honors Bill’s legacy.
This article only scratches the surface. Please mention your favorites in the comments section. Links to other newsletters are also welcome.

I await the arrival of more copies of my new book, It’s Just a Phase, at the publisher’s office. In the meantime, I am seeking opportunities for readings and signings in the coming year. I will be at The Crazy Book Lady in Acworthm Georgia on the afternoon of February 22. 
https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/product/its-just-a-phase/

Check out the other fine publications from Walnut Street Publishing. https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/

​The Chattanooga Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Mythological Society has asked me to emcee the 2024 production of their solstice celebration at Grace Episcopal Church, on December 15 at 6:00 PM. The event is not well publicized, but all are welcome. Contact me via Facebook messenger if you want to perform at this event with a story of rebirth or bringing the light.

For anyone who wants to perform, please remember that this is a performance, not an open mic. Please bring a short bio with your name on it as you want it announced to the audience. The preferred format is an index card.

There will also be a reading by three historical fiction authors at Reve Coffee and books on Saturday, December 13, at 1:00 PM. 

My first book was a poetry anthology titled Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets. I collaborated with two other poets to produce this volume in 2011. It is out of print now, but authors retain the rights to their work. I am pleased to present a few of my poems from that volume, beginning with two poems appropriate to the season.
 
Christmas Papers
 
I was older when I noticed
the same color and pattern
on the Christmas papers.
 
Christmas morning, I rose with excitement,
and opened packages with scissors,
carefully cutting tape, so I wouldn’t rip the paper.
 
I was older when I noticed my mother
ironing on Christmas night. She ironed
the same towel again and again.
 
Under the towel, Christmas papers
lost their creases. They regained smooth surfaces.
She rolled the paper we could never replace.
 
Choosing between gifts and new paper,
she chose gifts.
 
Snow
 
Already the snow dissolves
at seven in the morning
in the Chattanooga dawn.
 
It returns me to an Ohio childhood
where I dragged my sled uphill
to skid back down again.
 
I would conclude the days sledding
and await my dad’s return, a rabbit
in his hunting coat.
 
Blood and guts defiled the whitest landscape,
cleaned up by dogs.
 
Then my mother was busy in the kitchen
with the rabbit in a pan and
vegetables from a Mason jar.
 
Birdshot lead between my teeth,
I could not taste the flesh
washed down with milk.
 
Awakened from this dream,
I breakfast on oatmeal with raisins.
The snow has melted.
 
This next one won an award from the Tennessee Writers' Alliance, and I read it at their awards ceremony at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tennessee. It has since appeared in several other publications, including The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume VI: Tennessee.
 
Glen Falls Trail
 
I climb the limestone stairs
through an arch in rock,
into the earth’s womb,
pass through to a surprise:
George loves Lisa painted on a wall.
 
I wonder, did he ever tell her?
Did she ever know or think of him,
raise a brood of screaming children?
Did they kiss near wild ginger above the stony apse?
 
Did lady’s slipper orchids
adorn their meeting place where
deer drink from rocky cisterns?
 
Did their love wither
like maidenhair fern,
delicate as English Lace?
 
The symbols have outlived the moment.
There is only today,
only the murmur of water underground,
my finding one trickle into a pool.
 
I never knew this George or Lisa.
The rock bears their names in silence,
names the stream forgot long ago.
 
This last one shows my concern for environmental quality, which began before poetry became a passion and continues today.
 
Moonscape
 
The full moon obliterates
all but the brightest stars.
She casts shadows
on urban monoliths,
home to rats and divas.
 
Rainbows form and dissolve:
Neon stars announce coming events.
COLD BEER
SANDWICHES
SPICY BIKINI BAR
 
Alleys clog with dust.
Grit polishes glass.
I shade my eyes against smoke and soot.
Wind shakes neon signs.
 
The full moon rules above the skyline.
Despite burning questions about combustion,
downtown is looking up.
 
This post previously appeared in https://rayzimmerman.substack.com, my Substack newsletter.   The Substack version included a downloadable PDF with several of my Southern Light poems.
 
The blog on my website has a collection of fall photographs. Rather than the multicolored hillsides typical of fall photographs, I searched for perfect tiny scenes such as individual leaves and an acorn sitting in a bed of moss. https://www.rayzimmermanauthor.com/the-rains-come/fall-photos-2024.
 
The publisher has sold out of the initial print run of my new book, It’s Just a Phase. I am promised that a second print run will soon be available. https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/product/its-just-a-phase/.
 
The Chattanooga Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Mythological Society has asked me to emcee the 2024 production of their solstice celebration at Grace Episcopal Church, on December 15 at 6:00 PM. The event is not well publicized, but all are welcome. I still have a few spots open for anyone wishing to share stories of rebirth and bringing the light.
 
May the holiday season bring you joy and a return to your sense of wonder.
 
Merry Christmas,
Ray Zimmerman