Circling

The sun rose later each day
as the year got daily older;
the sun set earlier each day,
the weather gradually colder.
Day by day more brief the daylight –
whether dull, beclouded
or bright sunlight
until
the shortest day
arrived and
gave way
to daily sunrise sooner, sunset later*
steadily the year will be moving forrader
the temperature rise, seedlings sprout,
the days get longer, blossom open out,
and when the longest day is past
fruit will set, vegetables grow,
provisions to last
for the season approaching as the nights draw in
with dwindling daylight, bare winter begin
the temperature drop,
and growing stop …
until …

[IP:the shortest day]

* I gather that there is a bit of delay in correleation between the sunset getting later, and the sunrise eariler over a day or two, but I hope I'm OK to take the general trend especially with poetic licence.