Dear Curiosity Journal,
For two months, the marigolds have clung to the archway leading to the community altar, through rain, snow, and an abundance of wind. The petals have gone from plush to wilted to crispy, now converting to powder between fingertips. The season has turned, but they remain in their altered form. Now I dislodge them from their chilly post and cast them to the compost, where they’ll transfigure once again, giving life (in the form of organic matter) back to the land. In their wake, I’ll bring evergreen boughs to adorn the yule altar, a symbol of resilience and eternal life, a lush paradox against the black aftermath of a killing frost. They remind us that at the darkest, harshest hour of winter, the perennials are yet living, only resting, and this is all part of the cycle.
~Joy