A Christmas Villanelle

They say, one time, eternity took form.
The story’s told again this time each year –
a tale which, in December, keeps us warm.

Amidst a world that’s often uniform,
can my uniqueness be belov’d and dear?
They say, one time, eternity took form.

Society compels us to conform,
yet each of us has quirks that make us queer,
a tale which, in December, keeps us warm.

Our difference makes us separate from the norm,
yet in our incarnation, God is near.
They say, one time, eternity took form.

Connection holds the power to transform,
unveiling mystery that makes things clear –
a tale which, in December, keeps us warm.

Together, we can overcome this storm.
United, we can conquer pain and fear.
They say, one time, eternity took form,
a tale which, in December, keeps us warm.

A Christmas Glosa

Alone – with one fair star for company,
The loveliest star among the hosts of night,
While the grey tide ebbs with the ebbing light –
I pace along the darkening wintry sea.

December shadows lengthen, bringing cold.
Sometimes it feels like that’s what life will be:
More dark and chill, as we grow sad and old –
Alone – with one fair star for company.

But when the sky is dimmest, lift your gaze
And view this cloudless heaven with clear sight.
That lonesome orb can light our twisting ways –
The loveliest star among the hosts of night.

A distant candle shows the way to hope,
Reminding us that love will win despite;
Igniting flame within to strive and cope,
While the grey tide ebbs with the ebbing light.

In Christmas light and Christmas love, let’s turn
And see each neighbor’s shared humanity.
So having glimpsed the peace for which I yearn,
I pace along the darkening wintry sea.

The first stanza is adapted from the poem “Christmas Even” by Mathilde Blind.

A Christmas Terza Rima Sonnet

You’d think, in forty-four Decembers’ span
Accumulated gloom would leave its stamp
And render me a melancholy man

In every heart I’ve known, grief makes its camp
It pounds its drum and hisses, “I’m the truth!”
And yet, a wick still burns in hope’s frail lamp

If anyone emerges from her youth
Still cradling that pale light within her chest
What secret keeps her safe from sorrow’s tooth?

The key comes in two parts (so I’d suggest):
Share beauty, love, and justice – bold and free
And notice how, despite your pain, you’re blest

And Christmastime? It’s opportunity
To practice both, to marvelous degree!

“Clarity” is (after Emily Dickinson)

“Clarity” is
after Emily Dickinson

“Clarity” is a mirror –
Reflecting back at me –
And shows my soul particular –
Yet never separately –

And underneath – the Clouds – is seen –
And dense must be the mist –
That could obscure the Echo pure
that promises us bliss –

I’ve seen it in the darkest night –
And in the strangest Land –
Yet – never – in the midst of Loss
It made the least – demand.

ode to the table – day one

uneven and paint-splotched
    knobbly     wobbly
you’d teeter like the tippling pals
you held upright the night before
except for the wadded-up napkins
someone jammed beneath your toes

this is no place for flawlessness
yet your mighty central pillar
elevates your broad circular surface
    welcoming     balancing
high enough above the filthy floor
to ground my nervous drumming fingers

it’s dark in this stranger-full room
and i’m sharing you with two women
    not-yet-kate    not-yet-erin
who aren’t talking to me
because although this is a sort of church
it won’t be my church for another year

so i stare down at you instead
studying your lavish ornamentation
of gum-wads and peeling/curling stickers
until the indescribable commences
    uncontainable    untameable
and i am beguiled for good

Terzanelle of the Elephant

Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion depicts the subconscious mind as an elephant, with the conscious mind as its rider. The elephant – that great big bundle of emotions, fears, neuroses, cultural conditioning, etc., – is nearly always the one who makes the decisions about where it and its rider actually go, due to its size, its strength, its intelligence, and the fact that it’s the one with its feet on the ground. The rider is then left to come up with “rational” justifications for the decisions made by the elephant, which helps him maintain the illusion that he is actually the one in charge.

He’s not.

Terzanelle of the Elephant

I see you, elephant – you cannot hide.
I know your ways. You want to be unseen.
Between my mindful moments you would slide.

My subjugation’s your banal routine,
but every now and then I catch a flash.
I know your ways. You want to be unseen.

I drive; you tell me, “Probably, you’ll crash.”
I search for courage in a land of fear,
and every now and then I catch a flash.

I see your dominance and shed a tear
for my delusions of autonomy.
I search for courage in a land of fear.

I recognize there is no solid “me”.
I mourn for my belief in virtue, and
for my delusions of autonomy.

I know now – I was never in command.
I see you, elephant. You cannot hide.
My efforts at control are built on sand.
Between my mindful moments you will slide.