Prompt: Tradition
Tradition
Hum......I wonder
Where my tradition of
Christmas was born
I’m afraid I have always
Been a wee bit preoccupied
During the holidays
When others were
Out and about
Having fun
Partying down
I was in the studio
Following an idea
When my son was young
I did what was demanded
I decorated a tree
Made cookies
Although
I made less each year
One year I stopped
I collected gifts
I collected gifts
Wrapped them
Bestowed them on
Friends
Later
Shipped them
To Friends
Now I only give
What I have created
I always give to the child
On the street
At this time
I give more
I remember my last tree
It was beautiful
It filled the room
With good cheer
And sweet smell
Of evergreens
But, my heart was low
I vowed it would be
The last
It all seemed to take
Too much time
Too much money
And too much time
To put away
Our tradition now
We will
Make Christmas
Dinner
New Mexico style
Enchiladas
A pot of beans
Invite
Friends
Perhaps we will light
A candle
We will marvel at the
Landscape
That nurtures us
A crystalline sunset
A single star in the heavens
A crescent moon
On Christmas Eve
We will go to the
Pueblo
Celebrate Christmas
With the Native People
At the foot of the mountain
Bright orange
Sparks will fly against
A dark blue sky
Church bells ring
Gunshots sound
Memory of all that
Was primal
Not the Christmas
Tradition
I grew up with
But my own
Note: Images from the internet, Images of Christmas Eve Taos Pueblo.
_________________
Sunday Whirl #138
Note: Images from the internet, Images of Christmas Eve Taos Pueblo.
_________________
Sunday Whirl #138
prison, cloak, become, lens, goods, cash,
pursuit, skirt, cloak, wild, Venus, beloved
Tradition
Tradition can be a prison
Locked in
Without freedom of
Expression
Wrapped in a cloak
Of hair
We become
Zombies
Without
Voices of our own
We polish the lens
We look for new ways
We stash the goods
We horde the cash
In pursuit
Of the prize
I don a new skirt
The wild cloak
Of Venus
I light the sky
I beckon my beloved
15 comments:
This was beautiful Annell…. I can so relate…. & what a wonderful tradition you have created for yourself…
Oh how I LOVE the sound of your Christmas.....the stanza about the landscape that nurtures you is especially wonderful. And I love the idea of going to join the people of the pueblo. I would LOVE that!
I so hear you about how traditions change once our children are grown, and how the older we get the simpler we want it all to be.
so true what you say about traditions..maybe that's why I feel breathless when they come.. as a kid you see these things differently. I do like the image of your christmas, your own tradition.
I enjoyed both of your poems.
Traditions change and evolve over the years. Holidays are so different now from when I was a girl, not necessarily better, but very different. I appreciate the simple things in life more than I ever have before. There is more sadness; so grateful for grandchildren, for the balance (the joy!) they provide.
Thanks for sharing your traditions...the time when we connect with people sometimes of different backgrounds and believes..to enrich our experience on the earth.
There is great resilience in these words Annell..sadness and yet a desire to change the world to make it more 'yours'..not following the zombie state of the world takes courage but perhaps it leads to an inner peace that can't be bought or wrapped up x
A cleveer use of the words & a nice poem.
I read this as separate parts connected. The evolution of your own traditions, and then an explanation of how they came about. I relate to it all very strongly and have walked a similar path.
Elizabeth
I like that we are able to have our own traditions. This is my favorite part of this season.
How important it is to share and celebrate the season in a way that means something to us rather than just to satisfy commercials norms. You will remember your Christmas with warmth; so much better that the cold clash of cash.
I like the idea of creating your own meaningful expressions of the holidays. My husband loves making gifts and he even makes a lot of the ornaments. One year we did origami ornaments now that was hard work! We have recently started having a Japanese style hotpot at Christmas because you cook and serve at the table and it involves everyone to a greater degree. We have the traditional Swedish meal with his parents and anywhere else we would go so we do our own thing.
nice...tradition can become a prison as much as religeon when done for religeons sake...we just do things because we have always done them and they have no meaning beyond making us feel comfortable that we do them again...and we dont think about them...
Tradition as prison - wonderful way to make people question and think. Beautiful poem, with a warm feeling to it.
After the first stanza, "I don a new skirt" says it all. Well done!
Love this, Annell. I can relate to the fact that I didn't grow up with these traditions either.
Pamela
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