November is drawing to a close. Thanksgiving is behind us,
the Christmas season before us. It’s a good time to sit next to the fire, a
fuzzy bundle of blanket—or cat—in your lap. Cup your palms around the warm of your
favorite mug; sip, savor, reflect, plan.
We are headed into the shortening of the light, day slipping
into night at a faster rate. We push back against the darkness with
light—Christmas lights, candlelights-- the light shared with those we love; the
light commemorating those we have lost.
I have a favorite poem I Like to read this time of year, “In Dark December,” by Ralph Murre. Worth
the Google, I promise. You can also find his work here:
http://littleeaglereverse.blogspot.com. The poem begins simply “Whatever you believe, whatever you do not,
there are sacred rite you must perform in dark December...” and goes on to
encourage the coming together, the feasting and friendship between “...family and friends, cool cats and stray dogs
alike...” and invites us to “...Reach
so far in your sharing that you hold the sun in one hand, the stars in the
other, and no one between is hungry...”
The simple beauty of those words, the truth and hope in
them, are a candle all their own, a reminder to “Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some
kind of battle”-JM Barry.
Of course, this advice is better offered after one has
braved the battle of Black Friday shopping, because those bargains aren’t going
to find themselves. Cyber Monday has now been upgraded to Cyber Monday Week,
because if we all battle on the interwebz at the same time, the whole thing can
come crashing down. There is probably some sort of allegory there, but I have
yet to divine it.
Back on the home front, I have some Christmas lights up and
I am looking forward to getting my tree. This Christmas is not my First Worst,
but it will be for some. I remind myself to be kinder; to hold the sun and
stars and to light the in-between places; to build—not walls—but a bigger
table, room for cool cats and stray dogs, alike.
No comments:
Post a Comment