Can’t Afford My Memories #poetry #photography

I drove by grandma and grandpas place

so many changes  hard to trace

a little girl where flowers bloom

eating ice cream by the light of the moon

music played all the seasons

I loved Rudolph for many reasons

love there didn’t need yeast

family gathered for every feast

today the house I cant afford

 rich with memory’s golden cord

 

Responding to the prompt Afford at The House of Bailey

 

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Celebrate #photochallenge #haiku

 

 

Food, Festivities

gathering is natural

this year’s milestones

 

This week’s wordpress photo challenge is Gathering 

 

Beneath the Tree #4 #gifts #poor #poetry

This year I get to play Santa

gifts come in and up the stairs

our small organization has year round elves

A craft store donates wrapping paper

somehow the day before Christmas

several families still had a need

and presents there were extra

wrapping needed with some speed

this part is the fun part

gathering with my best friends

they had plenty of their own

“who needs to go to bed?”

and so we wrapped til dawn’s light

like Santa and his elves

now we do the deliveries

little thinking of ourselves

to hear the squeals of children

presents, foods brings them delight

I catch the look in adult eyes

their holiday now is bright

I tuck away the memories

a smile behind each one

and hug the spirit of Christmas

“God Bless us Everyone”

Christmas Carol book cover

 

Charles Dickens apparently saw the disparity between the poor and the rich.  “A Christmas Carol” speaks to the spirit of giving. There is much joy in seeing the joy in a child’s eye when they see goodness and kindness wrapped in a bow.

I guess I’m on a 12 days of Christmas role writing about the stuff that you’ll rarely see staged on the front page of the Newspaper. I’ve been in the “poor recipient” category and I’ve been the person who gets to bring the gifts to the family in “need.” Each of these “stories” are true with the hope that this Spirit of Christmas that Dickens talked about will prevail!

Rain Mixes With My Tears #sorrow #loss #death #poetry #photography

Rain fell today in the form of tears

the sky knew their sorrow

mirroring our gray somber visage

 tears are etching their way

as worn rivulets

in our hearts

Today

*

The storm will pass they say

 the rushing swollen river

pulls trees and roots into its foam

It will one day be a babbling brook

not today

*

There  will be memories

games and the songs of a child

but

not today!

Tomorrow they must face bravely

cherished routines must change

*

A plea to the skies~

“I must go on for their sake

but today

TODAY

I’ll lay on a new mound of dirt

dig my fingers into the earth

and never let you go”

This poem is derived from an archived piece written for two friends who had lost their parents during the holidays. If sorrow and grief is ever more relevant, it it this week as children are buried.

Photography “Opening of the Rift” copyright  L. Moon 2012

Mi Casa / Tu Casa #microfiction monday

Chicken and pork tamales especial by my grandmothers for the holidays. Cooked in only the best ~ “Real Grease.”

The first thing I thought about was the homemade tamales we enjoy during the holidays. No they are not cooked in fresh axle grease – well I hope not.

Happy New Year

Each week Microfiction Monday is hosted by the lovely Susan of Stony River come join us.

Entering the Holidays

As you are entering the holiday, what are you contemplating?  There are  the usual parties, the obligatory gifts for the boss’ dog, the jaunts to the grandparents. You have probably made the list of the extra food supplies you will need for all the feasting. Have you thought about those who will have a much different holiday from last year? There will be families, singles, and elderly who are “barely making it”. The extras like: gifts, decorations, parties, clothes, special foods aren’t even a possibility. Some things like heat, to keep the house warm, may not be in this year’s budget.

Last year, my husband and I received a phone call  (several days before Christmas) from a couple who spend each year buying on sale toys. Their goal  find children, in the community,  who otherwise wouldn’t receive any gifts. They had contacted a church. The church  had already done their “adopt a family” holiday giving. The church gave the couple our number. We in turn contacted a small Hispanic church in the poorest section of our community. Two days before Christmas, several of us gathered together to wrap gifts. I had never met these people but immediately felt right at home. After our gift wrapping party, we spent the afternoon going door to door passing out gifts. Many of the dwellings we stopped at had little furniture let alone holiday decorations. Children were running from other areas to make sure that we didn’t miss them. When all was said and done, we handed out gifts to 60 families. These gifts coming primarily from this couple living on a modest income. There was nothing modest about the generous heart of this couple.

Can you reconsider your holidays just a little? What if you bought several gifts for people not in your circle of friends or family?What if you encouraged co-workers to do the same?  What about purchasing extra groceries to go along with the gifts? The possibilities of how you can help are almost endless. You might say I have no way to get gifts to people who need them. Being in the non-profit sector, I promise you there are organizations that will find a place where those gifts are needed. Your local church  is on the radar as they are receiving  petitions daily for help. Are you the bold type? Go into a poor community yourself and do what we did. Knock on doors and hand out gifts. No modern-day Santa will be rejected.

The holidays are quickly approaching. Enjoy them!