Christmas- Good Will to All
by emaks (Member) - published: December 20, 2006
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In the spirit of Christmas, thought it would be nice to share those writings of ours that have relevance to the holidays. Past or present, all thoughts of Christmas/or whatever holiday you celebrate...

To begin I bring to you two from my "archive"

Blessings, and peace to all....

Elizabeth

Christmas Soldiers

There is a story I have heard
about a night in World War I
when moved to brotherhood were they
and so put down their angry guns.
The soldiers on that Christmas Eve
gave not a thought to “side” or “place”.
For just the briefest brightest bit
they looked into each’s others face
and saw the man, the brother, son,
the soul inside their enemy.
They spoke and sang and shared that night
and spent their time in revelry.
When morning dawned, battle returned,
the angry arms picked up once more.
Searching eyes of brother-man
the killing came harder than before,
the killing came harder than before-

If only that time of Christmas peace
could somehow last more than a night.
Shoulder to shoulder as brothers instead,
no more to kill; no more to fight-

the star of Christmas, which is love,
would conquer all and end all war-
would conquer all and end all war!

Christmas Sonnet

Though bustle of the season does surround
and fills the day from sunrise to sunset,
still, you should stop and listen to the sound
-heaven telling what we should not forget.

The angels’ wish for man this season lies-
when thoughts become a much more gentle kind.
The earth all year is filled with anguished cries.
'Tis Christmas joins angelic and man's minds.

For Christmas-tides do waft upon the air
floating freely along on angels’ breath.
In quiet stillness one can hear their prayer-
the wish for man, of peace and happiness.

Celestial chorus! -Listen to the wind
exalting, “Peace on earth. Goodwill to men!”

------
Elizabeth Maksymiuk

Comments

The following comments are for "Christmas- Good Will to All"
by emaks

Christmas Thread
lovely idea Elizabeth. Though inspiration's thin on the ground I'll post one from the "archive" too. Peace.

...

Promises

For Christmas we give
Each other one day,
Like so:

While winter whispered its goodwill
And merry gentlemen rested
We held hands on the feast day
And talked about Madrid

Rain came,
Made after dinner speeches
Raising its glass against the window
We held hands under the table
And talked about Madrid

While tabby cats picked clean turkey bones
And uncles boasted bold Fenian history
We knocked knees under the table
And talked about Madrid

Supper then and stories
The adults agog and mass-marvelled
In a hush befitting miracles
Grandfathers read from family bibles

And as carols caught like carded wool
Against the fence along the rec
And sombre spoons were deserted in dishes
Empty as the Marie Celeste
And aunts cried for cousins who couldn’t be here

Our fingers mimed Madrid under the table
Our bodies mutually plotted escape

To a hot sun climbing
A broad-daylight Christmas
Palms for pines
Where we unwrap each other
‘Stead of gifts

( Posted by: AuldMiseryGuts [Member] On: December 21, 2006 )

Christmas Good Will To All
There nothing like Christmas
and woods deep in snow
to remember Christmas's of long ago,
Dowm life weary highway
years pass single file,
But deep in us
is a bit of child,
The tinkle of sliegh bells
across a still night,
A warm shallow hearth
embers burn bright,
There nothing like Christmas
deep in the woods
to make us remember.

( Posted by: wanda [Member] On: December 21, 2006 )

Christmas Treasure
From the archives too...

Christmas Treasure
By: Renae L. Soler

There’s a feeling in the air,
so real I actually breathe it in.
I close my eyes
and inhale it.

Time approaches quickly and
deep inside lurks
the subtle suspicion that
there’s someone, somewhere
playing with our clock.

No longer a child,
I’m not easily fooled
but these feelings take me back,
rewinding to moments of
laughter and excitement.

I begin a search for
the hidden treasure,
a box that is worn and ragged too.
With shaking hands I remove the cover and
release the magic suppressed inside.

Peeking out before me,
I see a handful of crocheted snowflakes.
I’m sure grandma had sore fingers
while perfecting each and every one.

There’s wooden figured trains
and toy soldiers,hand painted
by my brother and I,
and the tattered ornament of our
first Christmas,dated 1985.

There are snowmen and decorations
made by our children so long ago.
A lifetime has passed since they were small,
only remnants remain of them,
for there are young men standing
in their places now.

Tears form in my eyes making all
these things a blur.
I am sure they are of no value
to others but they’re worth a fortune
in memories and love.

Store bought ornaments seem
the least impressive, not crystal,
gold nor porcelain replace
these family jewels.
Each year we place them
one by one upon our tree,
and as they recount the story
of our life we know
this is truly our Christmas treasure.

( Posted by: nae411 [Member] On: December 21, 2006 )

Nae!
From the archives all you want, but you won a write-off with this!
I remember stuff like that, my friend!

Behold our humble moderator, folks!

Okay, so I've used up thread space inappropriately, but who's gonna toot your horn for ya?

I wouldn't want you to remove my comment, though, so let me quickly run something off the top of my head here for Christmas:

Greenstick fracture

We had one sliced bread,
white,
above nothing,
the year you were three
and for Christmas,
there might be cake
in the pantry.

You'd climbed the little fence
and fallen
into not enough snow,
broken your little elbow,
cried, but there was nothing to set.

That was the year Santa was real
and brought you, from across Clark street,
some plastic Cowboys and Indians

and a doll for your sister.

( Posted by: windchime [Member] On: December 21, 2006 )

Christmas Thread
Ok, here's one from me.

Children rushing down the stairs
To see if Santa left them toys
Mom and Dad follow sleepily
(They were awakened by the noise!)
Shouts of glee and laughter
Ring out in early morn
As ribbons are untied
And wrapping paper torn
Stockings hang from chimneys
With candy and fruit galore
As they fill their little tummies
Till they can eat no more
But threre is no joy there in Iraq
Where chldren live in fear
And our soldiers, apart from loved ones
Must carry on and persevere
Dodging bullets from the enemy
Patrolling the desert in the night
They won't have a Merry Christmas
They aren't home tonight

So let this be our Christmas Prayer
"Dear lord in heaven above
Let there be Peace on Earth
Keep safe all those we love!"

( Posted by: Beatrice Boyle [Member] On: December 22, 2006 )

Festivities
To be sure comparisons between West and East are odious and invidious . However ,try as one might, there sometimes seems no way but to grit one's teeth and advance through what might well be a minefield. Tiptoeing round the issue is simply a non starter. So ,at the risk of having imprecation and calumny heaped on one's head ,here goes:

Having watched many religious festivities in the East, over the years ,one can't help but be overwhelmed by their sheer religious fervour and devotion -notwithstanding the swirls of frenzied merry making. Few could have put it better than Maugham : "..People pray and recite litanies, they call to one another, vociferously discuss, quarrel or greet one another. There is nothing that suggests reverence and yet there is a vehement overwhelming sense of the divine that sends cold shivers down your spine. In some strange way the gods there seem to be near and living."

In contrast ,this spiritual dimension appears to be totally lacking in the one single festival that draws the West together . True ,there is much mirth and goodcheer - and possibly even goodwill- going around. Nonetheless ,with each passing year , it appears to be increasingly metamorphosing into one glorious ,long-drawn-out saturnalia -dedicated , if that be the right word to use , to the 'worship' of the other gods - Mammon perhaps.

( Posted by: RJKT [Member] On: December 22, 2006 )

Christmas thread
This year I have but one wish
for underneath my Christmas tree
I'd like a handsome full sized elf
who will belong to only me

We'll sit in front of the fireplace
sipping on a glass of wine
He'll kiss me under the mistletoe
promising to be entirely mine

Some may think my fire's out
because I've gotten old
Still there's a spark ready to flare
when looking for the gold

( Posted by: Nitz Kitty [Member] On: December 22, 2006 )

Christmas thread, comments to all-
I forgot to submit a sister thread for comments, but no problem, post comments here as well...
These are all such wonderful thoughts, and I thank you all for sharing them-
You each have such beautiful voices-

Shannon,Madrid sounds magical!
Wanda, I think you should copy your submissions of late to this thread too!
Nae, you brought me a tear along with such a plethora of pleasant memories.
Lucie, your thoughts are always welcome, with or without poetry, but since you shared, I loved your "greenstick" Christmas memory.
Bob, delighted that you joined in- simple, pleasurable; spirit thrives here-
Bea, lovely. Sure brought me a few Christmas memories, from both sides! And an important prayer to boot- Soldiers, everywhere, are needing our prayers-
RJKT- can't say I disagree. Wish the spirit so widely shared by retailers was employed here in the west in an ongoing basis.
And as usual Kacee, you bring me a smile- I bet a little elf could make up for size with enthusiasm!

Heard a cute one the other day:

The four stages of Santa:
We believe in him-
We don't believe in him-
We ARE him-
We LOOK like him!

Merry Christmas all!

-Elizabeth

( Posted by: emaks [Member] On: December 23, 2006 )

Wait a minute...
URBAN DRUG WAR LAND

To the tune of: “Winter Wonderland”

In the cold-hearted city
life is short, hard and gritty

A life without hope
feels better with dope

Walkin’ in an urban drug war land

Downtown we can build a dirty snowman
And we can pretend it’s Bobby Brown

we’ll say “Got some blow?”
and he’ll say “No, man.

Whitney took my stash
when she left town”

Later on we’ll expire
in a hail of gunfire

There’s danger and fright
after daylight

Walkin’ in an urban drug war land

***

Merry Christmas, Elizabeth

xo Steve

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: December 23, 2006 )

nevermind- different story
“I am Andrew, and I must share a strange yet true fish story with you regarding Jesus. My brother Simon and I (for some reason Jesus insisted upon calling my brother ‘Peter’- We figured he was one more crazy homeless guy hungry enough to eat discarded fish heads “ [fish heads/fish heads/roly poly fish heads/fish heads/fish heads/eat ‘em up/yumm].

“ But Jesus insisted we could catch more fish than a village could eat. Then He introduced us to James and John and proclaimed that henceforth we should be renowned as the ‘People of the Village’. We donned costumes of gay apparel in order to spread the Word. He sayeth it takes the Village People to catch a fish, although I knoweth not what a leather cop may be.

“So we set out our nets to fish and soon our nets pulled in so many fish that our boats sank under the piscean weight. Much to our surprise, Jesus stood up and walked upon the waters back to shore, proclaiming “Got you, suckers! You’ve been Punk’d!”

Jesus laughed so hard upon hearing this story that He proclaimed, “I hath guffawed to such a degree that I hath sharted* mine own self! Excuse me while I clean up and re-swaddle my privates with clean swaddling.”

[*sharted- A combination of the words ‘shit’ and ‘farted’: derived from the Aramaic ‘sharturded’. Fortunately, men’s underwear in Jesus’ time was basically an adult cloth diaper. This soiled fabric from the Last Supper has been preserved as a Holy relic, the ‘Shart of Turding’.]

And Jesus said, “Many amongst you make fun of John’s fair appearance, calling him ‘Mary the fairy’ and worse things as well. He is dear to Me, as I am called to love one and all, some more than others. At least he does not carry a purse, as Judas does. Speaking of Judas- Hey, Jude… Sorry, not you Jude, I meant Judas. Many call you ‘Judy in disguise’, due to your secretive ways and that gay purse that you carry, not that there’s anything wrong with that. One amongst us shall betray Me. Hey, Judas- I offer you the last pizza dipping strip, which I have already dipped for you. Why don’t you be a good girl and fetch us some more? They won’t deliver unto us here in the Projects. Do you need some sheckels?”

“No, Jesus”, replied Judas. “I have thirty pieces of… That is, I can cover it.”

After Judas had departed Jesus commented, “I’ll bet he shall find some Roman soldiers before he finds the closest Pizza Hovel.”

********************************

[NOTE: I created this to stand alone but intending to adapt it to a reworking of "Turban of Time". If you liked this, you will love "Turban of Time" (roughly 70 or so posts back under drsoos. Enjoy.)]

s

*************

I changed my mind! Maybe this...?

“I am Andrew, and I must share a strange yet true fish story with you regarding Jesus. My brother Simon and I (for some reason Jesus insisted upon calling my brother ‘Peter’- We figured he was one more crazy homeless guy hungry enough to eat discarded fish heads “ [fish heads/fish heads/roly poly fish heads/fish heads/fish heads/eat ‘em up/yumm].

“ But Jesus insisted we could catch more fish than a village could eat. Then He introduced us to James and John and proclaimed that henceforth we should be renowned as the ‘People of the Village’. We donned costumes of gay apparel in order to spread the Word. He sayeth it takes the Village People to catch a fish, although I knoweth not what a leather cop may be.

“So we set out our nets to fish and soon our nets pulled in so many fish that our boats sank under the piscean weight. Much to our surprise, Jesus stood up and walked upon the waters back to shore, proclaiming “Got you, suckers! You’ve been Punk’d!”

Jesus laughed so hard upon hearing this story that He proclaimed, “I hath guffawed to such a degree that I hath sharted* mine own self! Excuse me while I clean up and re-swaddle my privates with clean swaddling.”

[*sharted- A combination of the words ‘shit’ and ‘farted’: derived from the Aramaic ‘sharturded’. Fortunately, men’s underwear in Jesus’ time was basically an adult cloth diaper. This soiled fabric from the Last Supper has been preserved as a Holy relic, the ‘Shart of Turding’.]

And Jesus said, “Many amongst you make fun of John’s fair appearance, calling him ‘Mary the fairy’ and worse things as well. He is dear to Me, as I am called to love one and all, some more than others. At least he does not carry a purse, as Judas does. Speaking of Judas- Hey, Jude… Sorry, not you Jude, I meant Judas. Many call you ‘Judy in disguise’, due to your secretive ways and that gay purse that you carry, not that there’s anything wrong with that. One amongst us shall betray Me. Hey, Judas- I offer you the last pizza dipping strip, which I have already dipped for you. Why don’t you be a good girl and fetch us some more? They won’t deliver unto us here in the Projects. Do you need some sheckels?”

“No, Jesus”, replied Judas. “I have thirty pieces of… That is, I can cover it.”

After Judas had departed Jesus commented, “I’ll bet he shall find some Roman soldiers before he finds the closest Pizza Hovel.”

***

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: December 23, 2006 )

double trouble
oops

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: December 24, 2006 )

DrSoos- Always a pleasue, sometimes doubley so-
Your take on things always brings me a smile. I would think you could do something very "soosish" with the virgin birth, the sheperds, and kings bearing gifts... waiting with bated breath- btw, happy christmas Doc-

Elizabeth

( Posted by: emaks [Member] On: December 25, 2006 )

eemaks
maybe an Easter special (see above). Maybe time for Islamic humor?

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: December 26, 2006 )

Snoopy Xmas
vs. Red Baron- "Merry Christmas, mine friend!" I love it

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: December 26, 2006 )

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