Wednesday, January 6, 2021

lost mail and poetry

 Well, it's Epiphany already. The Wise Men have arrived at our house.

Lord! Grant some Light to us, that we
May with them find the way to thee.
Behold what mists eclipse the day:
How dark it is! shed down one Ray
To guide us out of this sad night,
And say once more, Let there be Light.

That is from a poem by Henry Vaughan, from a book of Christmas poems which I'm really liking this season. 

Our mail has been messed up, and two of my subscriptions are late. It was reported in the news that the postal service was backed up due to more Christmas mail than usual. But, will it ever come? Or is it lost somewhere, forever? Meanwhile, my issue of British Country Living - the February issue - from England - came yesterday! I definitely am getting better service from them directly than I ever did from Amazon.

Yesterday, the library custodian told me that the fellow who runs the hardware store told him that my brother had been there last week. I told this story to my brother later on. Doesn't it sound like something that would happen in a very small town, maybe eighty years ago? Our town is small, but those days are gone; still, I guess not entirely. 


A CHRISTMAS POEM

One of the oxen said
"I know him, he is me - a beast
Of burden, used, abused,
Excluded from the feast - 
A toiler, one by whom
No task will be refused:
I wish him strength, I give him room."

One of the shepherds said
"I know him, he is me - a man
Who wakes when others sleep,
Whose watchful eyes will scan
The drifted snow at night
Alert for the lost sheep:
I give this lamb, I wish him sight."

One of the wise men said
"I know him, he is me - a king
On wisdom's pilgrimage,
One Plato claimed would bring
The world back to its old
Unclouded golden age:
I wish him truth: I give him gold."

Mary his mother said
"I know his heart's need, it is mine -
The chosen child who lives
Lost in his Lord's design,
The self and symbol of
The selfless life he gives:
I give him life, I wish him love."

-  Dick Davis

4 comments:

  1. the US post I think was flooded with extra packages and mail because of the pandemic! I know one of my friends can't come to church because of the pandemic and her small gift to me is still coming and my 2 small things for her are still on their way there. And her gift to me went all the way to Kansas (!) before heading back East! Lovely poems, thank you so much. Ah, for small towns...

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    1. To Kansas! I hardly know what to think about that. Why???

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  2. Happy New Year, Lisa! Our post is all awry as well. We ordered a new filter for our drinking water tap (or was it the filter for the vacuum cleaner - I forget!) and we tracked it all over the country as it visited three wrong depots before it eventually got to us!
    I love the poems! I know Henry Vaughan's poetry but I'd never heard of Dick Davis so did a bit of research. Yes, I like his poems.

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    1. Well, I'm glad I chose well! :) You wouldn't think more volume would led to so much confusion. Seems like there's plenty of incompetence mixed in.

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