11 winterized

[Doreen Peri]

1.

And so we are here again, once more
the day when the sun is the farthest
from the equator and the way the earth
sits atilt on its axis causes more darkness
than light. But right at the very time
we arrive, light begins to seep through a
newly opened blind, our days become longer,
our bond stronger, our recognition of life cycles
renewed! And we will dance until the year is new!


2.

i lit the candles on the hearth,
the candles on the table,
the candles on my night stand,
bathroom candles, scented
candles, candles to light the
hall from room to room.

when you didn't show up,
i waxed poetic, wrote three
songs, two poems and a
sarcastic lyric about joining
the circus of doom.

it was quite a night.
After I wrote, I ate a lovely meal
by candlelight, read a good book
and listened to some jazz tracks.

wax is never wasted, neither is light.
thanks, you bastard, for standing me up.
i hope you had a lousy night.


3.

on the bright side , the candle abides
to set a lovely atmosphere,
light reflective each flicker a beat
of hearts in unison


4.

light strings spread
primary colors
secondary reflections
i'm behind my intentions
but ahead of the echoes
from moonbeam dreams

will wrap them around a tree,
say a prayer for me, lie down
in the silent night,
awaken to endless
possibilities


5.

It's 19 degrees. Wind with gusts up to
45 miles an hour. Wind chill factor
makes it feel somewhere between
a cool negative 5 and a balmy,
mild and pleasant zero degrees.

This post is written in Fahrenheit.
If I had to translate this poem into Celsius,
it might feel even colder because the
numbers would be lower.

The good news is the weather doesn't
control the heart. Keep a warm heart.
That will help us all stay warm.

And wear gloves, for God's sake.

6.

i found a cold spot on her warm heart,
discovered accidentally through a troubled
word mishap,

chances being treated like an
emergency aorta probe, the whole
of each chamber in danger of explosion,
so she shut down quick,

iced over the soft spot, began reciting
a slippery mantra, undaunted by
any possibility of a thaw.

"leave me alone.
leave me alone,"
she said.

and pretty soon, even after
spring caused new tunes to
emerge, new blooms to become,
even after the hummingbird

flitted a thousand times a second,
wings beating a hover, his long
bill determined to enjoy
the sweet brief treat...

"leave me alone.
leave me alone,"
she said.

and pretty soon.....
they did.

cold hearts breed such dire certainties.
even spring cannot resurrect them.


7.

i blessed the festivities with the
best source of light i could find,

the kind that comes from
mind sparks and lucid illuminations
of dark interiors –

the style of which i never expected,
like a heartbeam reflected from
the genesis of doubt.

it is from such a place where i
have figured out the meaning of
light.... a definition i cannot quite
state –

not because it is too late and not
because there is no articulation –

only because of the relation
between me and the beam itself,
the both of us inseparable.


8.

the hummingbird is not a fool.
his bill is long and probes deep,
a tool to find a succulent nectar.

even the ice is not foolish,
though it keeps him from his treasure,
forces migration until icicles drip.

it is we who are fools.
we who cannot understand
the plan, we who curse the
absence of warmth, we who
do not have the fortitude
to wait through the cycle.

patience, brother, patience.
even dreams are cyclical.
soon we will sweep, circular,
to the top of the arc!


9.

silent snow
you can hear
the echo
of your heartbeat
slow and warm

holy snow
the earth
in a chill blanket,
beneath there lies
a dormancy.
all nature needs
hibernation

all is calm
bright multi-colored
rainbow lights
all is bright
reflect off a
chilled surface

feet wrapped
in wool socks,
fingers gloved,
pocketed,
counting
steps one
by one

sweet silent
snow, heavenly
peace


10.

christmas meant more to me when
the myth was true

when the night was holy, a sacrament,
incense scents and light, when belief was
eminent, the true gift,

my joy, my faith, the space between
all time eliminated with one moment,
the birth, the birth

now it is a lovely time of year,
but i insist it is much emptier
without the myth being true

on the tree, i hung a note
which reads, "you are
the light the world has been
waiting for"

but frankly
i don't want
that responsibility


11.

remember when i curiously questioned
the fact that dad's handwriting was the
same as santa's handwriting the
year before.

rude awakenings
often offer a jolt,
a sneer
and a grin.
the jokes on all of us.

but now i'm all grown up and question
the purpose of war.
nobody ever wins.
what the hell is it for?

population and real estate control,
i suppose.

i really do miss the twinkle in santa's eye
and his bulbous red nose.
what was he drinking
to make his nose shine like that?

at night during christmas,
let's recite the psalms.
then thank the good lord
we don't hear any bombs

ahhh but some hear them, right?
the joke's on all of us
some silent nights.

i bet santa and dad and jesus
all are hanging out on a cloud
laughing aloud at my verse.

but as dad used to say,
"things could be worse.
i could have the same
handwriting as you."

i tend to scribble, it's true.
shoulda been a doctor.
if i were, i'd prescribe myself
some decent deal-with-it meds.

'twas the night before christmas.
gnight... going to bed.


12.

sunrise
christmas
morn, depths
of pastel
in brilliance form
mysterious light
and the lyric refrain
was he born?
was he born?
echoes again

dawn witnessed
through a cold
window pane
and the child
rejoices, "he came!
he came!"

[Steve Plonk]

It's all good but I really love entry nine, beginning with "Silent snow" & entry ten which seems skeptical of a childlike faith, &
I answer you: Let your childlike faith renew in you and recreate the "myth" in human form who is right there at your elbow as you watch the silent snow...

The world soul has called and we answer the collective moan of pain and war with cessation of conflict and joy...even among the
tears. HE LIVES! Z!

[Doreen Peri]

Steve... thanks for reading and for your thoughtful replies. I'm quite attached to this series. Happy holidays & a wonderful 2010 to you!

[mnaz]

every year I say "I've completely lost the magic of this time of year," and every year, somehow a few flickers of the magic and myth return within. Dig the parts about getting wise to Santa... And yeah, part 9 is quite a nice interlude.

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks, Mark!

Actually, the myth I was referring to was the myth of Jesus.

Was just missing believing it was really true.

[mnaz]

yeah, that's part of what made it such a wildly exciting holiday to anticipate and ponder as a kid, (in addition to all the lights and decorations and parties and presents!)-- the dual myths-- Santa and Jesus-- both fairly mind-blowing. And then you learned about Hannukah and other traditions. And my sis and I also learned about a few Scandinavian yule traditions as well from Grandma. yes. a lot to that christmas thing....

[constantine]

an ambitious work, reni - skillfully realized.

[Doreen Peri]

Mark.. it was the thing about jesus being god incarnate.. that's the myth that really made me love christmas so much.. but i still love it, nonetheless, even though that's not my belief anymore and yeah, the magic does definitely still come through somehow! They are interesting juxtapasitions.. jesus and santa claus.. lol.. both preposterous .. but believing!.. that's the lesson i guess.. to believe in *something* and as we grow out of myths we grow into believing in truths.. like Love and Hope and Charity and Friendship and Peace... ideals, if not yet truths... ideals.. yes. And that's the point, isn't it? of course it is! thank you, my friend, for reading!

Dino... it's a collection of pieces I wrote last year during the holiday jam... i used to use them as workshops.. the jams... for my own writing. I need to do that again.. many of the pieces I ended up recording when i was recording several years ago were originally jam pieces... I think I write best spontaneously... edit later... but what do i know? My favorite is this one... hahahahaha... i should read this one on stage one day!

i lit the candles on the hearth,
the candles on the table,
the candles on my night stand,
bathroom candles, scented
candles, candles to light the
hall from room to room.

when you didn't show up,
i waxed poetic, wrote three
songs, two poems and a
sarcastic lyric about joining
the circus of doom.

it was quite a night.
After I wrote, I ate a lovely meal
by candlelight, read a good book
and listened to some jazz tracks.

wax is never wasted, neither is light.
thanks, you bastard, for standing me up.
i hope you had a lousy night.

[the mingo]

The trouble with the Jesus myth is it ain't. The trouble with the man himself is no matter where we wander off too He comes looking for us and when He shows up it's always so inconvienient because in his presense there is light. No matter how many times he has to come looking He don't stand there chewing our ass out. He just says "Follow Me."

We all miss believing Him. He is our life and our hope. How could anyone not miss that ?

[Doreen Peri]

Ahhh... well maybe it IS true after all! Thank you, Mingo!

[the mingo]

My privilege, 'reen.

[Barry]

Beautiful, Do-reen. I loved it.

Peace,
Barry

[mb]

cold hearts breed such dire certainties.
even spring cannot resurrect them.

just two of the many lines I loved. keep writing and be yourself the myth that is true.

-mb

[Doreen Peri]

Barry, ... thank you! And I loved the fact that you read it and replied so kindly.

Mike... make no mythtake about it, I myth mythelf when I'm escaping into thuch thpaythes as thith... but then I come back and there I am again, honored to be a mythtically true myth and that people like you can see through my mythtical mythtery.

heh

(thank you both)

[mb]

well thed, myth Doreen.

-mb