Sijo:
Dayspring

this light before dawn slowly unwinds
from its dark spool of night

layering lavish embroidery
upon the eastern skies

while bare limbs extending wait
to be touched by this flowering light


Marjorie Buettner, Mpls.,, MN

May your heart be full and able to forgive those who do not know what they have done to offend.

Laurie Stammer, Buffalo, MN

Walking forward requires looking back once in a while, to see where we've been,
To the side, to see what we're passing along the way,
And to converse periodically with those
Walking nearby, letting their experiences enrich ours.
Only by listening collectively
Are we able to make the future "right."


Lisa Brosseau, Minneapolis, MN

Winter Poem

When temperatures fall
& Icy chills rise
You retreat inside
To the warmth within
Where memories of old
& Friendships of new
Radiate

Kyra Mesich, Minneapolis, MN

A Holiday Toast

To eggnog and Yule logs
And finding the perfect gift

To Christmas lights and late, late nights
Staying up with friends

To the roaring fire and the Sunday choir
Joined in the perfect hymn

Here's to all these things that make
Winter the warmest season

Michael Mesich, Minneapolis, MN

Solstice bids us turn,
tip the millennial glass
and reverse the flow of the sand.

Brother Paul Jasmer, Collegeville, MN

These Little Angels

There he sits. An angel ornament.
His wings drop.
His gown's tattered.
His halo's dull.
A reminder of this season.
The gift of boundless love.

There they sit four little boys.
Their wings grew.
Their shirts stained.
Their halos shine.
Reminders of this season,
This boundless gift of love.

Patty Sargent, St Paul, MN

CHRISTMAS MAGIC
Exhaled breath haunts the air
above whipped water white drifts
across a lake gone marble.
Now is when things
invisible and vapor
solidify
filling empty spaces--
like love tangled in green-gold ribbon
and newborn hope crying in a feed trough.

Jonna Fantz, St. Paul, MN

Holidays come anew and we remember you by what we do. Just write five positive things about each person present and pass it onto the recipient. After dinner, read your memo. You will be proud to learn the very best enjoyed with all the rest.

Hattie Halgren, Golden Valley, MN