Albuquerque's River of Lights in 2021's longest night

Winter solstice in the botanic gardens,

meandering through a river of lights,

children squeal with long-restrained joy

while parents search for glimmers of hope,

as omicron dances around and about

the masked and unmasked,

the vaccinated and the unvaccinated,

like a monster searching for prey.

In this darkness, have we found the right way?