Stiff,
cautious
on her branch,
she peers about.
Sweetly curious,
half-haloed, tattered, and
holding fast a captive star,
she heralds this angelic truth
laid in the heart of our broken world.
Every Thing counts. Every One counts. Always.
Blessèd
Christmas
To All
The Task at Hand 
Fantastic message for all.
Thank you, Oneta. Christmas blessings to you, and all good wishes for the new year.
Your Christmas tree reminded me of French poet Guillaume Apollinaire’s Calligrammes.
Merry Christmas, Linda.
Calligrammes were new to me; at least, by name and in their association with Apollinaire. I found this interesting introduction to his work, and the life experiences that helped to shape it.
Apollinaire was probably my favorite French poet when I was busy being a French major in another life. A wealthy older student gave me a volume of his complete poetic works, which I still have. We’re doing a better job surviving the current plague than he did his a century ago.
Well put Linda,
Here is another message.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VuqM2opVSw
That hymn seems to be the typical ending to most Christmas Eve candlelight services here, as well as being a joy to sing at any time. When I moved to Texas, I learned to sing it in German, and recently I found another version that’s especially pleasing. I haven’t a chance of singing along in Gaelic, but listening to Enya’s version is pleasure enough.
Gorgeous angel and picture-poem, I love this post!!! Merry Christmas.
Oh, and I shared on Twitter btw. This is great!
Thanks!
The thought of a rag-tag angel pleases me no end; I’m glad you enjoyed her. She’s been atop my tree for years. Merry Christmas to you, too — we’re warm and sunny today, and it feels more like spring than winter. I enjoy my memories of snow, but I love the reality of warmth!
Your angel is charming. There must be a story behind her. Merry Christmas, Linda, and enjoy your enviable spring-like day! No warmth and a dearth of sunshine in LA today.
The story’s really quite simple. She was hanging about in a corner of a shop, nearly concealed by glittery, sequined, and blown-glass ornaments. She was so plain, and her expression seemed so bereft, I felt sorry for her, and purchased her on the spot. Now, she gets the place of honor; I suspect that’s the reason for her smile.
All the very best, Linda – today and always!
Thanks for the good wishes, GP. I hope the same for you, along with sweet memories and enduring hopes.
Linda, I enjoyed the warmth of peace found in the photo and poem. Blessings and Merry Christmas!
Though peace may seem in short supply at times, it is present in this world. May it endure for you, into the coming year.
A wonderful message .. .and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks, Frank. Given our unexpected warmth, I may be off to the beach myself this weekend, unless the woods end up being more tempting. Whatever pleasures come your way, I hope the day is filled with joy.
The perfect message, well presented
I suspect you’ve learned the same lesson I have, Derrick — a sentimental Christmas isn’t necessarily the best Christmas. My angel isn’t at all sentimental, but she’s no less joyful.
Absolutely
Merry Christmas, Linda! Looks like we’ll have tropical conditions here! Ha ha!
It’s already 72 degrees here, and the squirrels have been frolicking for an hour.When they get out of bed early, I know it’s going to be a pleasant morning! However you celebrate, I’m sure you’ll do your own frolicking, one way or another. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas
Likewise, Sherry, and all good wishes for a peaceful and creative New Year.
Merry Christmas, Linda!
The dates of our celebrations may differ, but the joy always is the same. Thanks for the gift of your greeting, Gretchen!
Some Orthodox are on the « new » Gregorian calendar for everything but Easter, and my parish is one of them. So I’m with you today !
And now I’ve learned something, even on Christmas morning — so Merry Christmas to you, too!
We call always count on you to bring beauty into the world with your words or photographs. Merry Christmas.
I hope your Christmas was a good one, Jean. I suspect that it was — the tales you’ve been telling are wonderful. It certainly was different from last year, and different often is better than we imagine! I can’t wait to hear about the New Year’s goings-on!
I remember that angel. She arrives today like an old friend!!
Merry Christmas!
Celebrating with friends is great, and celebrating with old friends is the best! I hope your celebrations were purely enjoyable. I did manage to get out yesterday, and found a some old friends in a field: snow geese and sandhill cranes. I never expected that — it was the best kind of Christmas gift.
Yes! I’ll bet your little angel has a brilliant history to match her timely message.
She has a history, though it’s not so brilliant. Still, I love her. It just occurred to me I’ve never included my special ornaments in my hurricane evacuation kit. I need to remedy that, and put them away differently this year. I’d hate to lose her.
How very pleasing your stiff but joyful angel is. And this reader sends thanks to you for your remarkable blog posts and sends good wishes to you for peace and happiness in the days to come.
Thank you, Dor. Joy should suffuse our season, and if I’ve added even a dollop of joy to yours, I’m pleased! I’m sending you heaps of wishes for a healthy and even happier New Year!
What a moving and warm message, I love the simplicity and beauty you share. Merry Christmas and peace on earth to you and all.
Simplicity often is the key to beauty. I thought of you yesterday when I saw a Great Blue Heron atop a very tall, very dead tree, surveying the land below. I hoped for a photo, but of course as soon as I stopped the car and got out, he flew. No matter — the seeing often is enough. Best wishes to you for the New Year!
I’m happy that you saw a Great Blue and I agree with you that “seeing is often enough.” I’ve written about how the camera and actions involved in making a photograph can cause us to sometimes miss the moment entirely. Wishing you a better chance next time. May the New Year bring only good things to you and yours!
Thaks, Linda, and the same to you,
Pit
On we go, Pit. It’s time to select a beverage for toasting the New Year! Here’s to more beautiful sunsets, healthy cacti, and better shots of those whooping cranes!
She’s lovely – I like her little smile.
That smile’s part of her charm, isn’t it? She’s one of my favorites; every time I look at her, I smile.
Ah, another Etheree … and a stunning one it is, too! I like your little angel, Linda. She’s got a charm and presence that captivate. And I love your Etheree, especially that last line. So very true. I hope you’re having a lovely Christmas (here, it’s warm enough — nearly 60! — but dismal and off-and-on rainy, a super challenge for a long-haired dog!!)
We turned out more cloudy than otherwise, but it was warm — well into the 70s, making it pure pleasure to be out and about. I hope your day was filled with smiles, even though the weather was a bit glum. I’ve published this etheree before, but it seemed so apt for this year that I had to bring her back. After all, we re-read favorite books, and listen to favorite music more than once, so why not?
I hope your day was a good one. Here’s to a happy and healthy new year — and here’s hoping the ‘terrible twos’ don’t apply to doggies!
Very nice poem!
Thanks, Rob. There never can be too many angels in our lives, poetic or otherwise!
So lovely, Linda!
Thank you, Becky ~ my little angel is just too cute not to share, and I thought her message a good one for this time.
Definitely!
Wise words. I hope you’ve had a happy, peaceful day. I discovered Mum keeps all the little gifts she has got out of crackers together in a little bag in a drawer because ‘you can’t throw them away, can you?’
I laughed at your mother’s habit: partly because the saving reminded me of my mother, and partly because the way her rationale was phrased reminded me of a British friend who lives now in Wales. It’s interesting how even absent an accent, certain ways of phrasing a sentence just sound ‘British’ to me.
On we go, now. I hope the new year brings you new joys, and plenty of pretty flowers!
Happy Holidays, Linda.
And wishes for the same for you, HJ. Thanks to your wonderful cardinals, we have a little holiday red with us all year long, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the coming year.
Merry Christmas, Linda! A lovely tree Etheree and a welcome message.
I hope your Christmas Day was a good one, Tom. Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for all your marvelous posts through the past year. Here’s to more beauty in the year to come!
Hope the holidays have been special for you.
Yesterday was more special than I anticipated. I came across snow geese and sandhill cranes, and for once I was almost close enough to photograph them. I hope your day was lovely, and marked by a surprise or two, as well.
This is perfect, Linda. Yes, everything, everyone counts. I hope your day was a beautiful one, and that the rest of the season is merry and bright for you!
It was a wonderful day, Jeanie, just as yours surely was. It still is a little odd to me when Christmas dawns warm, but we do our best to adjust! Now, it’s on to the new year. By the time it’s over, I hope we’ve moved on beyond the current unpleasantness, and your visits to Southern Exposure are more relaxed!
A superb and poignant Christmas wish!
I love that angel! She has character.
Christmas was wonderful, peaceful and joyful. Now we turn our gaze toward a New Year!
Can’t wait.
A peaceful, joyous Christmas is the best Christmas; I’m glad you and Gini were able to celebrate in relatively good health. As for that angel, she’s a favorite. If she’s so inclined, she can raise that star aloft, the better for us to see it.
Your words are melodic. Happy New Year
Thanks, CheyAnne. It is almost a new year; it’s hard to believe, but if we’re lucky and blessed, it will be a better one.
Broken in some ways, whole in others, thanks to the Gift of Christmas.
Exactly so — thanks to the giver of all good gifts.
Merry Christmas to you, too!
And now, on to a new year filled with good things: new recipes, of course, but maybe even an end to the Demon Virus!
Linda this is so lovely. I hope that you had a joyous Christmas filled with peace and hope. James and I wish you all the very best in New Year. ~Terri
How nice of you to stop by! I’m glad you enjoyed my little angel, and her message. She may be a little stiff and slightly awkward, but she’s very good-hearted.
I thought of you recently because of a book I received as a gift. Titled Flower, Song, Dance, it’s a collection of Aztec and Mayan Poetry translated by David Bowles. It comes with a helpful glossary — how else to keep all those names straight? — and a good introduction. If you happen upon it, I think you’d enjoy it.
All the best for the New Year. On we go!
Linda, thanks so much for thinking of us and the book. It sounds fascinating – and so helpful. ~Terri
Just lovely. Belated Christmas greetings.xxx
Ah, but don’t forget: there are Twelve Days of Christmas, and the season still is alive and vibrant, no matter what the shopkeepers say!
Merry Christmas a week belatedly, Linda. That’s quite a fine poem and an very nice ornament. Is it a family heirloom? Certainly looks that it could be.
No, I’ve had it for a few years, but I bought it in a shop. It was tucked into a corner with sequined, glittery, over-the-top ornaments, and she looked so sad I just had to bring her home with me. Her arms move, so sometimes she raises her star and blesses everyone.
God bless us, every one! (P.S. your poem is lovely in every way.)
God Bless Us, indeed. Maybe then we can start blessing each other, and things will really begin to improve!
YES!!