A sudden presence.
He arrives through the pining air.
The wind has left the holly
To carry him here.
I wave my sleeping hand
To his lasting face:
A bright pure symbol
Displacing our pasts,
Perfect as a candle
At a yuletide feast.
Christmas Eve,
Each stained-glass dream
Filters his acceptance.
He’s mid-winter himself
Stretching white-angled wings
To shadow the star and spire.
Our thoughts exchange-
As a wealth of presents
In his frost-feeling night.
Low fires and incense feed the
Hours. The far hours which carry
The Holy Gift:
A love complete,
Stepping, between
The stars.
Charity begins where interest ends,
Having little interest but in giving,
Removing self from self, that there be space
In which a much-loved guest might feel at home.
So might one find delight, though ravens rend
The unembroidered fabric of one’s being:
Miracle of unrequited grace,
A wave of wonder welling up from stone,
Singing as it breaks of selfless grieving
Can the wind across the snow
Howl enough of frozen pain?
Return to where the children go.
In love and hope begin again.
So did Christ return to Earth
That lovers might renew their love.
May all your longing bring to birth
A passion that no wind can move,
So strong no wind can stronger prove.
Can anyone explain the glow of Christmas?
Holidays are candles in the night.
Rebirth comes from family and friends
In one bright blur of food and talk that ends
Still burning as a peaceful inner light.
There is no way to substitute for Christmas.
Miss it and no circumstance feels right.
All my heart’s with you, yet I must miss this
Season thick with love and rich delight.
Calendars may mark the tides of love;
However, please recall that love’s the sea.
Rest easy, then, in Christmas’ sweet madness,
Illumined by the pregnant star of gladness,
Serene within the depths of you and me.
There is no pain no happiness can move,
Making room for cherished company,
Antidote for life’s incumbent sadness
So long as will and wisdom puissant prove.
