StarPoet Newsletter Vol. XII, No. LI

Saturday, 17 December 2011 21:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 17 December 2011 21:24

The StarPoet Newsletter
Vol. XII, No. LI (December 18, 2011 C.E.)

solstice is as solstice does, three days hence the solstice comes

How very strange
It is to freeze
While the bright sun
Blinds you through
Clear azure skies

Lisa Jain Thompson c. 1998 C.E.


The 20th is Aunt Maude's birthday. We will have a Jameson in her honor. Or two. Have some poetry y'all. .

the earth moves, tilts, the seasons change
The Holidays
The holidays mark year's end And the promise of the new spring A quarter year away. Solstice, Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, Dongzhì, and Sol Invictus, We wait upon the sun.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

..and the time came when the risk it took to remain in a tightly closed bud became infinitely more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -- Anais Nin

year to year
You Try As A Child
You try as a child, you try to be good, Try to make happy your mother and father, And your teachers to like what you do. No one wants to be in trouble, Nobody plans to be a fool, We all try the best we can, Some of us win, some of lose, We all struggle in the end. Life is sweet, life is cruel, Life is way too long and short, Take a breath, life and liberty, Happiness to follow sometime later.
Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

the pace grows weary
All The People
Look at all the people in their shiny clothes, Their vivid hair and colorfully woven sweaters, Watch them pass so quickly by, rushing to work, Working their way back to their family and home, A blink of the eye, they're erased and they're gone, A rustle of fading leaves through the treetops.	— Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

Yule is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider." -- Yule Lore

in the grip of winter
Oxygenation
I die, briefing by briefing, Each powerpointed breath Less oxygenated than the last, I would settle for a soft wimper Than this slow drag across a desert.
Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

The Holly King, represents the Death aspect of the God at this time of year; and the Oak King, represents the opposite aspect of Rebirth (these roles are reversed at Midsummer). This can be likened to the Divine Child's birth. The myth of the Holly King/Oak King probably originated from the Druids to whom these two trees were highly sacred. The Oak King (God of the Waxing Year) kills the Holly King (God of the Waning Year) at Yule (the Winter Solstice). The Oak King then reigns supreme until Litha (the Summer Solstice) when the two battle again, this time with the Holly King victorious. Examples of the Holly King's image can be seen in our modern Santa Claus. -- Yule and Its Lore

holiday spirits
Red Lights
Red lights filling up the motor way, Bumper to bumper, head to toe, The air is chilling and the trees are bare, White winter dreams abound. Santa's web page is quite busy, FEDEX delivers all his gifts, Rudolph's retired, Mrs. Santa's in court, Merry Twitmas one and all.
Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

life dribbles by
Leaky Vessels
I leak, ooze fluids Drawn by gravity Into my panties, A normal occurrence, I've been told, The product of a Healthy body Which seems designed To enhance the profits Of the lingerie industry.
-- Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

A thousand hills, but no birds in flight, Ten thousand paths, with no person's tracks. A lonely boat, a straw-hatted old man, Fishing alone in the cold river snow. - Liu Zhongyuan, River Snow

coping strategies
Just Go To Sleep
Just go to sleep, Forget about it all, Shit happens, Then life goes on, Your life, my life, The kid down the street, Your boss the bastard Who is out for himself, Just go to sleep, Forget about it all And maybe he'll be dead Come morning -- God works In mysterious ways And some of them must break Your way some day And revenge is best taken After a full night's sleep.
Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

the standard model
God Is
God is infinite, Religion is personal, Neither position Reflects reality. The universe exists, The earth exists, I am here Writing this. All other bets Are off the table Until I give up This leaky pen And slip once more Into nothingness.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

Every year at just this time, In cold and dark December, Families around the world All gather to remember, With presents and with parties, With feasting and with fun, Customs and traditions for people old and young. -- Helen H. Moore

starpoet
Pterodactyls I Have Known
Excuse me, but we're having A sidebar inside my head, The sky is raining Jello shots, The ground is a muddy brown; Pterodactyls circle around my eyes As I fold my wings and dive Down across the lunar landscape Then soar back through Saturn's rings Before heading out past Pluto Towards the third star on the right, Crashing into the 'Frisco Bay And home.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)

solstice hopes
*Stopping The Sun* The sun stops, Pauses in the heavens, Begins our slow return To spring and daylight. These are the darkest days, Filled with our brightest hopes, Tomorrow the world begins once more, Pulling us towards the equinox and rebirth.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (December 2011)
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny, a half penny will do. If you haven't got a half penny, then God bless you. -- Traditional English Christmas rhyme


Copyright © Lisa Jain Thompson 1948-2012. Back issues are in the Newsletter Section of the StarPoet website. Visit my contact page and get in touch.