Tuesday, December 24, 2013

T'WAS THE DAY BEFORE



Opening the stored stash to find the treasures again, I think of the people they came from, many long gone, some just far away.

~handmade clown from J.A.C. who lived one flight up once upon a time,
and frequented church bazaars at Christmas~
How many more years will I go through this ritual of unearthing and reburying these precious tokens of seasons past?

~handkerchief angels (one a cat) from the mother of my Massachusetts 'family' friends where many Christmases came and went richly celebrated~
~a sledding boy (pencil sharpener from Germany) given me one year by poor crazy Stefan who used to live a floor below and in later years, after his wife died,
terrorized the building with drunken tirades~ 
~a wooden cut out cat from a friend at the Ashram upstate
where I spent Christmas one year~
~this china horse candlestick (there are two) and I don't even recall who gave it decades ago, and more trinkets below it, and in other boxes~
I only take out the Buddha Santa that neighbors who still reside here gave me, and place him before the poster of a poetry show I did once, then pack the rest back in the Christmas drawer, and close the closet.
 
How much longer will I keep the basket of select Christmas greeting cards?  Oh, these are not questions to answer now.
New greetings have come to join the old.

~from the dear friend I'll see in Florida in January. 
It's a cutout~
~looks like this when front lit~
 ~I love this reindeer from other Massachusetts friends~
~the wish for world peace from friend Wendy who's taking us to see
"A Night With Janis Joplin" on Broadway in January!~
Tonight there's caroling in the park for an hour
supper with a friend after, maybe snow flurries, maybe bells!  Glorious bells--who does bells better than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?


5 comments:

Peggy said...

Hi Michelle, I like that you looked at the decorations and then put them away. That's a nice tradition in its own right. The verse "sweet sage and cedar ..." -- did you write it? Would it be OK if I use it with my ritual circle sometime? It is perfect. Lovely visiting you here, sounds like you have a perfect evening planned. Love, Peggy

Ms. said...

Dear Peggy....of course. I just emailed you the whole poem and if for some reason you can't open the pdf and print it, just email me and I'll copy paste the whole thing into another email to you. All blessings.

Nancy said...

I am touched by the ritual of revisiting these memory holders just once a year and then letting them lay in silence for another year. So touching. Glad you have folks to share the season with.
I too was wondering about the poem, but didn't think to ask! Ha! Would you mind sending the fullness of it to me as well? I'd love to read it, as the portion you share really caught me.

Anonymous said...

I also used to visit an ashram upstate. Maybe we met there. Possible. Merry Christmas, Michelle.

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Michelle. Enjoyed seeing your ornaments that have gained the patina of time and contain so many memories. Wishing you a happy holiday season and a very happy new year with lots of stitching adventures!
best, nadia