Book of Past Challenges

Journal Entry December 25, 2041

The calendar marks another Christmas, 100 years from that of my birth. Gratefully my mind is still here. The body may be checking out however. The number of years left for me is in question. But I believe love and the written word live on.

calendared pages
declare another Christmas
on this day of hope
I share the Father's promise
through my actions and my words

Despite our world's forward progress into technology induced isolation, the Christmas promise of hope and salvation is still renewed this day. Winding the timepiece backward, I've watched as the ice man brought the block of frozen water and placed it in a box to keep our bottle of milk cold. I've helped chop and split wood to cook our meals on wood burning stoves. The ice is melting and our forests are burning.

timepiece wound backward
nature's ice and wood supply
simple solutions
for preservation and heat
planet now in jeopardy

I've turned the round dial on a clunky black phone and listened to the ticking sound as the dial returned to position and worked with pencil and paper to calculate the mathematic equations to determine my clients insurance premiums. I built a business by visiting peoples homes, sitting across their dining table and getting to know who they are and what their needs were. In turn the season was met with cards, homemade cookies, jams and wines.

clunky telephone
pencil, paper, face to face
caring for others
gifts of cookies and jellies
season of celebration

Today the world spins by my surgically enhanced eyes so fast, my laser vision still can't keep up. The fridge passes prepared nourishment, on schedule, to a plate for consumption, a dinner bell rings. Communication is permanently imbedded behind my left ear and linked to my right eye, so I see and hear and communicate at the touch of my ear lobe. And the public is lulled by corporate greed to believing the automated voice saying, "buy this, buy that, buy, buy, buy", cares. The promise of the season buried deeper and deeper under consumer landfill.

crispy salad plate
juicy red pomegranate
bells chime a welcome
family still gathers to feast
gift exchange waits 'til later

We can no longer depend solely on a child in a manger born 2000 years ago. He has passed the mantel, it is up to us to carry his message. Cherish the earth we were commissioned to care for, walk in the shoes of our brother and reach out and touch our neighbor.

earth and sky and sea
living proof of agape
gifted to our care
love our neighbor as ourselves
pass on the message of hope

Artists paint, singers sing, healers nurture and poets write. Until I can no more, I will use my gift to proclaim the living message of the season.

St. Luke wrote these words,
"Peace on earth, good will to men."
sage words to live by
                   ~~Judi Van Gorder

Prose 371 words.
Poem 5 tankas followed by 1 haiku = 28 Lines


Notes: ▼

Day 25

"December 16 prompt (don't know the day)"   Prompt for: December 16, 2018 (Ren)
Subject or Theme: Christmas Future ~ a narrative and a poem!
Word(s) to Include: Any type of timepiece: clock, timer, phone, watch, etc. Please note what you use at the bottom. Must be used in the both narrative and poem.(or any derivatives of these words)
Forbidden Word(s): Future (or any derivatives of these words)
Additional Parameters: Write a narrative about a future Christmas. It must be at least 250 words (give word count). Then using that narrative, write a poem. At least 28 lines. Do not use exact lines from the narrative. Make the poem poetic.
Remember, do not use forbidden words ANYWHERE, including title or the brief description.