Merry Christmas
So, once again the Savior’s Birth draws near,
And once again we feel an Obligation
Much to spend before another year
Takes us to the Brink of Desperation.
Salvation offered freely as a Gift?
It surely has a catch in it somewhere;
Rarely do The Powers give a Lift ~~
Happy as they seem to strip us bare.
Christmas comes to change all that, however,
Yet so few can clearly see the Road
Reaching far beyond what’s merely clever
Revealing heaven’s Peace to each Abode.
Each rude Challenge met with hopeful Attitude
Makes a cheer-filled Life defined by Gratitude.
~ FreeThinke
Amen!
ReplyDeleteI wish that I could write verse. Alas! I'm terrible at it.
You, FT, have a gift. Publish, publish, publish!
Agree, a gift (work) expressed.
ReplyDeleteBah, humbug! Stick another bow on it, FT. ;)
ReplyDelete- Your Grinchy admirer...
Very nice, FreeThinke. Please keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy looking at the picture. What a warm and richly appointed setting. So Christmas festive, yet tasteful.
Where did you get the picture?
The picture, Kurt, was taken just before Christmas, 2007 at my house. We're not quite so ornately decorated this year, but everything else in the room has remained exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, AOW. I must confess I get the biggest kick out of writing verse, such as it is.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time I'm not ambitious about getting it published, and really don't care whether anyone likes it or not, though a bit of praise now and then certainly doesn't hurt my feelings any. ;-)
For me it's a privilege just to have enough time to do these things, and the reward is in the doing. I aim to write with good craftsmanship adhering to time-hnored rules and working within strict formal limitations. I don't strive to be "original."
Neither did Johann Sebastian Bach, yet he turned out to be the greatest composer of all time. All he said about himself toward the end of his life, was "I worked hard."
C.S. Lewis had most interesting things to say about striving for originality. One of these days I'll have to dig out the pertinent quote, but he believed aiming to do a good, competent job was worthier and apt to produce better results than deliberately trying to be "original" in order to make a name for oneself.
As for me, I have come to understand the most powerful enemy in the quest for excellence is the ego.