"This Infinite Light"
In summer, a candle is lit
inside a time crystal,
held in a glass
without hours.
In winter, it still burns,
a bright spark in the darkness
and we all gather around
this infinite light.
* * *
Notes:
Time crystals form the basis of Southern technology. Temporal technology is extremely risky, but they're using it everywhere, and liable to wreck the world a second time if they don't quit. Which is about as popular as trying to get America off its oil addiction.
Primarily the Torn World stories focus on the North, with its extreme seasons; or the South, which is temperate to tropical.