  Poetry
This week: What Was Hiding Beneath All the Mess? Edited by: Fyn  
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Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.~~ Norman Vincent Peale
(even AFTER!)
For it is in giving that we receive.~~ Francis of Assisi
(even AFTER!)
The smell of pine needles, spruce and the smell of a Christmas tree - those to me, are the scents of the holidays.~~Blake Lively
(even AFTER!)
One thing I love about Christmas music is that it has a tradition of warmth. ~~Zooey Deschanel
(even AFTER!)
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The day after Christmas, 2017. It is 4 degrees below zero. The fireplace is burning merrily, but I kicked the furnace on because it is COLD! I want to stay wrapped in my blanket, curled on the couch and read one of my new books. I probably should be cleaning up the detritus of a marvelous day, because all the happy elves were too busy having fun yesterday to help last night. I decided that it didn't matter and that I'd deal with it today. Silly, silly me. I didn't take advantage of the seven or eight stuffed and tired elves and get them moving. I shrug, nudge the pooch curled at my feet. Sassy raises her head, blinks an 'Are you crazy, Mom?' and flops her head back down. Well, can't clean with a sleeping pooch keeping my toes warm, now, can I?
We had a white Christmas. As in solid white. As in white-out conditions with blowing snow, three foot drifts and eight inches of new snow. Every branch is sporting a coat of white. The sky is blue and the sun is brilliantly shining. Isn't doing a thing to dispel the cold. Snow squeaks underfoot when the pooch is determined to go out.
If you've read past newsletters, you know we do something here called 'Christmas magic.' This year was gold and silver stars. My daughter went overboard with them. We will be finding rogue stars for months! 'Star alert!' Everywhere. There isn't a room that hasn't had stars tracked in there. Love it! It's a mess, but who cares? Not me! It keeps the magic going. I remember my mother mailing me a post card in June. A star taped to the postcard and the words, 'Star Alert' written on it. Nothing else. I'd smile as did she on mailing it. I will think of her every single time we find another stray star. And the magic shines on, ever brightly!
Christmas dinner was a mess. The turkey refused to get done on time even though it should have been. The ham was overdone. I did something horrible to the stuffing. Worst I've ever made. The grown-up children sat at a 'kid's table' as we had too many people here to fit in the dining room. We hollered Christmas toasts back and forth. They loved it! We ate buffet style - that was a first, but it all worked and despite the mangled dressing notwithstanding, everyone ended up stuffed! My sister-in-law had brought the BEST EVER! Christmas cookies and the snow blew and buried all the cars. It was wonderful.
MY hubby, the one who always waits until the very last second, surprised me with well thought out, timely, and fun things that made my heart smile. A very good day. I wandered out to our Maui Room to let the dog out and toss another log on the fire. I looked around at the disaster. On my way back to the computer room, I walked through the dining room, past the kitchen (grabbing a few cookies, because, well, why not?) and living rooms to wend my way down the star-studded hallway. I shook my head. Nope. Not dealing with the mess today, tomorrow is time enough for that. The world will not end. Kind of makes it feel like it is still all happening. A text message dings. Hmm. Wait, It is. I'd forgotten our granddaughter and our great-granddaughter are coming by this evening. Toss a two-year-old into the equation. More chaos. Ah well. I continue back to continue this newsy while munching down an amazing chocolate/peppermint confection.
What i really want to do is write. Stray stars are but falling shooting stars begging for wishes. Sun-shadowed tree branches etch the snow in intricate patterns. A new cozy shawl wrapped around my shoulder warms with memories as well as warmth. Our puppy, experiencing her first Christmas, wondering what all is going on: playing with all the children, pouncing on every odd cookie crumb that hit the floor, getting innumerable belly rubs, howling along to Christmas carols and finally curling up to sleep in her new bed curled around all her new toys she'd gathered together. Hugs and happy tears. A twenty-two-year-old experiencing all the traditions, zaniness and sheer joy of her very first (!) Christmas. Stockings with an orange in the toe and the why of it. Ideas flurry. Phrases drift in the swirling memories. Christmas cookie tales spiced with mint, gingerbread and dining-room table conversations that ebb and flow as various people spin tales of 'remember when so-and-so did (whatever)' or the 'Did I ever tell you about the time we ...' (that you've memorized because you've heard it SO many times before) or the 'I miss the way Mom would ...' whatever it was she'd do that made people laugh. The way someone always dozes off on the couch, wakes up mid-snore and insists they were NOT asleep; just resting their eyes or thinking. How a particular ornament (this year a styrofoam drummer boy) catches someone's eye and sparks a retelling (for the umpteenth time) of why 'Your great-grandmother gave me that ornament the year I was ten and got my snare drum..' So much happens, so many potential poems are simmering, just waiting to burst forth!
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Feedback. It is important! Please do let your newsletter writers know what you think, ideas you may have and/or what you'd like to see. We all have different ideas we like to focus on. I tend to key in on 'observations' and getting folks to notice the little things that can inspire someone to write. Observation is key in using description. Description is key to making a poem come alive -whether of feelings, events, surroundings or a minute particle. Each of us, as writers, are inspired by different things. I've been both praised and yelled on because i do not say: You should do this! I feed a writing fire twigs and branches of ideas, moments and 'stray stars.' I try to show by example.
Regardless, no one likes to write into a void! When you read the newsletter, please consider letting us know what YOU think and feel!
Happy New Year! May it be full of writing opportunities, well crafted work and stars! |
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Poetry: December 27, 2017 Issue [#8676]
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