Love, for fledging-time

'Birds, though you long have ceased to build, guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen God for fledging-time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today: Love, the bird is on the way.'
---Eleanor Farjeon

Tonight marks the turning of the year; the darkest, longest night of all. In times long past, people would gather around fires to fight the dark, watching and hoping for the morning. This dark and cold season is certainly not one for new life, for beginnings, for birth, for fledging-time. Yet in the depth of winter, in the dark, the stillness, the cold; in this forlorn season, Love made its appearance in a straw-filled stable. At just the wrong time, Love made it all right.
Love, for fledging-time...