Christmas Poems

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Chrismas 2023

Dear Friends and Family,

We are sending you our Christmas greetings from Michigan, USA with a video e-card, which we posted on YouTube, here. The text and image also appear below. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday,

Ed & Shirley

Breaking the Stillness

Leafing through the notebook
I am searching the milestones,
the turns of phrase and page
that might speak
to this night
among all others.
“Write something new”
my conscience prods
as if this story needs
an added word.

I am reminded
that there was no
room at the inn,
that the Holy reaching down
had to ad lib,
the reservation
having been lost
and the weary travelers
needing rest,
there was a birth in the offing.

Something new
was in the center
of retelling this old story,
and before shepherds,
wise men,
and an angelic chorus,
there was a wail
breaking the stillness,
a Why
that was the Why.

23 Dec 23

© Copyright 2023, E. G. Happ, All Rights Reserved

St Luke the Evangelist Writing His Gospel watched by his symbol, an Ox, 17th Century, artist unknown.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Christmas 2022

Christmas 2022

Dear Friends and Family,

We are sending you our Christmas greetings from Commerce, MI, USA with a video e-card, which we posted on YouTube, here. The text and photo also appear below. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday,

Ed & Shirley

Gratefulness

The oak leaf dances
across the new ice
as the wind begins its howl,
the fire is lit
the easy chairs huddle
the holiday still a day away
yet gratefulness
begins in the heart
with the season it creates.

© Copyright 2022, E. G. Happ, All Rights Reserved

Photo © Copyright 2022, Shirley Chen, All Rights Reserved

Friday, December 24, 2021

Dear Friends and Family,

We are sending you our Christmas greetings from Ann Arbor, MI, USA with a video e-card, which we posted on YouTube, here, and below. The text and photo also appear below. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday,

Ed & Shirley

Child at the keyboard

The child does not ask
if this is on the page
or if the notes are expected ones;
kneeling on the piano bench
they just play
using the keys as if they were percussion,
singing aloud
a joyful shout
that has us running for our phones
to record the event
for those afar;
The little delightful surprises
awaken our imagination
breaking into the "what has been"
with what is new,
what requires a pause,
our breath catching,
a broad smile
as we gaze
through the viewfinder,
a cry in our wilderness,
the push to write this down
and tell the story.

21 Dec 21

Poster - Save the Children

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Christmas 2020

Christmas 2020

Dear Friends and Family,

We are sending you our Christmas greetings from Ann Arbor, MI, USA with a video e-card, which we posted on YouTube, here, and below. The text and photos also appear below. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday,

Ed & Shirley

Dandelion

The dandelions have gone to seed

and a once sickly field

has gone white with pods;

the wind shakes and carries

its seeds upward

as if snowing in reverse;

you stoop to pick one

and contemplate its single hope,

then make a wish,

blow hard,

and watch it join the flurry

to fall and find

new ground.

24 Dec 20

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas 2019

Christmas 2019

Dear Friends and Family,

Ed & Shirley

Chocolates

We were just remembering

scenes from Forrest Gump

when the box of chocolates arrived,

just days after you left us.

The image of your gnarled hands

working the iPad screen

to ensure no one

was forgotten for the holidays

lingers;

that was who you were

giving before you gave

your final breath.

Grace sometimes travels

through the mail

in ways we may not see,

but it arrives

nonetheless.

We cannot remove the ribbon yet

and will save it for the gathering

around a meal with others

who come

as we came to your home

that first time

and tasted of the life

given away;

you taught us that,

and we will ever know

which one

we get.

"… life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." --Forrest Gump:

A package from Alice arrived today, seven days after she passed

I can say no more than this...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas 2018

Christmas 2018

Dear Friends and Family,

Ed & Shirley

Communion

They run from the altar rail

having tasted the elements,

a pause in their play

this trio of young ladies

the Magi of the present

have come,

to pay homage to this rite

of passage

someone born

someone died

someone come again.

25 Nov 18

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Christmas 2017

Dear Friends and Family,

We are sending you our Christmas greetings from Ann Arbor, MI, USA with a video e-card, which we posted on Youtube, here. The text and photo appear below. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday,

Ed & Shirley

Eclipse

This day of omens
brought out everyone
to the fields, squares and beaches,
to where the horizon and its sky
filled our eyes like panorama photos;
we were ready to see
with our magic glasses and cardboard contraptions,
even colanders--
anything with a narrowing opening,
a blocking of all that would intrude on our retinas,
to a singular vision,
this silhouette
of one orb crossing another--
all that we do to see something we understand
comes only once or twice across our years
and we are ready,
with awe and a sense

that this time is one to pay more attention

than any other.

23 Dec 17

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year