If someone hopes for

 a small  sprinkling of snow on

Christmas Eve are they reindeer?

~

Like snow and reindeer,

and men in jolly red suits,

all just holiday fodder.

Must our fleeting joy

Come only from successes

Or can we enjoy failures?

~

In retrospect we

might enjoy some failures like

 not winning that scum ball’s heart.

Is it sheer folly

to look for some remnant of

jolly while grocery shopping?

~

But Jolly abounds

Up and down the aisles there.

Jolly Ranchers, Jolly Time,…

Why must we wallow

in all this borrowed sorrow

for events of tomorrow?

~

We’ve mistakenly 

applied the scouts’ motto and

tried to be prepared.

As we watch them go,

arms outstretched and hearts breaking,

where do we turn for solace?

~

For solace we turn

to memory and  happy

thoughts of their return.

If you were going

to take a guess, why do you

think we get so stressed?

~

We all feel the press,

keep them safe but let them go

knowing we have no control.

In this stressful time,

which pounds harder, anxious heart,

or nervous, disquiet mind?

~

One starts, the other

pounds harder in a  frenzy 

of fear-based disharmony.

What remarkable

human being’s birthday is

just four days away?

~

David Carradine?

Or Diego Rivera?

Or Jim Morrison?

When the flakes begin

to fly about recklessly,

where will we find safe harbor?

~

Flakes have been flying

high on tv news. To be

safe, grab the remote.

Now that December

is here, do you have any

words of lasting cheer?

~

This is the season,

to be filled with lasting cheer;

its more fun than lasting fear.

Chocolate calendars

counting down twenty-five days.

Is that what it’s all about?

~

Such sweet rituals

bring daily joy  – heralding

a much larger joy to come.

Could writing poems

be our antidepressant 

of choice when the times are rough?

~

That, and our downers

when euphoria erupts!

 Like lyrical lithium.

Must we seek meaning

in the eyes of that Divine

lest we find despair?

~

 Where love is present,

the eyes of the Divine shine

and banish despair. 

Why do we mistake

 human interpretations

for divine exhortations?

~

“Made in God’s image”

leads us to believe we see

through the Divine’s eyes.

Can we not wake up,

after all the gluttony ,

to some human compassion?

~

Perhaps we should start

with one simple intent – to

give as well as get.

What should the little

piggy who has roast beef do

when some little piggies have none?

~

Invite them over!

Roast beef tastes much better with

a little bacon garnish.

When fear and hunger

bring out the worst in us all,

how can we find harmony?

~

Harmony may be

a stretch, but we can begin,

as others have, with a song.

 Do we want to be

governed by love or fear –

A choice for all seasons?

~

Love’s warm governance

steadies the terrorized heart 

when fear’s icy grasp returns.

What can poets do

to soften blows and mend wounds

when disaster strikes?

~

Poets remind us

of eternal verities

and the depths within.

Is it true you’ve been

designing cups of reason 

for the holiday season?

~

Reason, being scarce,

did not need designer cups

so I sought absurd instead.

Since some things remain

eternal and unchanging,

must we be more flexible?

~

Openness serves us

when dealing with certainties

of whatever kind.

On the darkest nights

do you know where the moon goes

or where the stars are hiding?

~

They’re still shining bright

even on the darkest night,

only hidden from our sight.

Where can we find light

enough to brighten the night

during our darkest hours?

~

Love, recollected

or present, casts light enough

to see us through such darkness.

What can each of us

do to insure hate does not

have the final victory?

~

Final victory

can only be assured when

each of us surrenders hate.

If now’s the winter

of our discontent, how can

we welcome a new springtime?

~

From the compost of

our discontent, new life can

take root, grow, and bloom.

How many right-wing

ideologues does it take

to design a Christmas cup?

~

Ideologies,

are a lot like Christmas Cups:

of dubious origins.

Does the old horse find

the longer blinders are off,

there’s much more out there to see?

~

From one old horse to

an old horse in training –  I’ll

simply say this –  “Wait and see.”

As you leave fifty

behind, my son, what will you

be taking with you?

~

Honorable scars;

tokens of well fought defeats

and banners of victories won.

Does the foreknowledge

that coming grimness will pass,

relieve or deepen the dread?

~

It all depends on

where we put our emphasis –

the coming or the going.

As the season turns

and the days grow cold, what will

keep you snug and warm?

~

Snug in the knowledge

winter’s a fleeting season

warms the cockles of my heart.