I don’t believe in Christmas (2010 revision)
Posted by Andrew on Dec 27, 2010 in Articles, Poetry | 1,765 commentsI don’t believe in Christmas, this
American disease,
this chance to flaunt our
less-than-seemly sides
and they are Legion.
In other seasons mostly
I don’t mind so much this jangling sound,
this cry like an alarm designed
to stir me from the stupor of
the everyday; yes, usually
let bells ring out, even
the rusty ones, and out of tune,
but all this noise just jars me now,
and pushes me to cringing in
December din, with ringing
in my ears like old regrets or all
I’ve left behind of too-long days, even
as I altogether give in to
nothing nearly like a still
and wholly silent night.
No, no, not Christmas yet, or not for me.
“Advent,” though, now that
rings truer to me and
I like that Latin sound of it
Ad-ventus—“coming towards us,” and
infringing even, bootfalls smashing
though my dull defenses in
an almost hostile sense as Something
slouches towards me in a deepening
power of unmaking or,
at very least,
upsetting all my tables
in temple to myself that I have
so blindly built. Yes,
a slouching, stumbling Something or
Someone makes much more
certain sense to me somehow, oh yes,
I do believe in that,
I do indeed believe in
breaking in and entering, yes, that
little Burglar, yes, that
Stranger, this poor
ragged Baby breaking in
and catching us
all off our guards and
smelling slightly
of stale straw.
And now I wonder if this Advent of
the Christ-child might right now have
something strange and true to say,
just might have more to do with me
than I supposed, might make
some sense of this commercial jingle,
bells of registers, oh yes.
Perhaps this Advent still can speak
Into that not-so-holiday much more than
I supposed:
For He too, (tiny-handed) clutches,
grasping at the world, and tugging
at my ragged sleeves like twelve
too many shoppers
lunging for that latest thing, for some
thing to latch on to.
He must have screamed that starry night,
squalled out at the world just like
these angry, ardent customers, with
their silver clutched in fists, jaws set
to tasks, with all the stress
of this dark season, their
thin socks cold-wet with rain:
small wonder they’d grow angry, yes,
Small wonder—oh…
So now I know a way, I see
two common qualities, how
I might somehow hold to Advent
and keep Christmas in my head.
It takes outrage, of course,
both then as now,
and well we all know outrage,
us as He.
And as another winter swirls
this sense of something gone so wrong
hangs on us like old ornaments
or tiny lights that flicker out,
or like a slightly acid
stable smell.
But from that straw Small Wonder,
still and silent as the night, appears
to help us loose all that we clutch
and cling to, urging that we might
embrace instead this thing
we least expected, that strange gift
so roughly wrapped as It arrives.
Small Wonder strikes so opposite
a note to all that I think I need, as
does a beggar at a feast, as
does the thought of me
down on my knees, as do
good tidings of great joy
declared to dirty men and
working graveyard yet somehow
with weather eye turned heaven-ward.
And so it shows to maybe all of us
(who stumble through this pageant as we
mumble carols, eat too much)
it shows to us that (maybe) faith
might not mean too much more
than doing dirty work
with one eye to the sky
that we may see still well enough
to drop it all, to be found
night-weary in that stable
where we surely don’t belong, yet where
the outrage of Small Wonder draws
A heaving, little, peaceful sigh
then settles down to sleep.
Your article has piqued the interest of many readers, including mine. I think that’s because of its unique qualities, realistic views and excellent writing format.
I’m no guru on this topic, but your views are much like mine in this area and I appreciate how you’ve written this article. You are a great writing talent.
It takes a special person to write a great quality article and you are such a person. The points you make in this writing are well thought out and written.
You covered this idea rather well. Your ideas have caused me to rethink some of my personal views on this subject. You have a persuasive way of writing. Thank you.
Writing a great article is about flair and passion. You obviously have passion and flair which is evidenced in this article. You keep your readers’ interest from the first sentence.
I’ve never seen such great work on this topic. The quality of this work is very high and you are talented at what you do. Please continue these writings. Thanks!
Great article. Your material has obviously been researched in depth and you’ve done a wonderful job presenting your points. I agree on most but am on the fence on others.
This article is fantastic! I really relate to the viewpoints you make. I plan to revisit your article so I can further process this information.
I truly appreciate how you’ve worded your material in this article. I am very impressed with this information and you’ve managed to keep it interesting.
I very much enjoyed reading your article. I know you put a lot of work into this and that deserves recognition. Very high quality article.
We’re a bunch of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your site offered us with useful information to paintings on. You’ve done an impressive task and our whole community can be thankful to you.
I am trying to imagine how much work it took for you to write this amazing article, but I can’t. I’m sure you researched and did a lot of thinking to make these interesting points.
Clearly you know from whence you speak on this subject. With that said, I’d like to tell you I admire your writing style. Your content is also very interesting and useful. I enjoyed this article.
It appears that you have put a good amount of effort into your blog and this world require more of these on the Internet these days. The both of us actually enjoyed your post. I do not have a great deal to say in reply, I just wanted to sign up to reply well done.I always learn something new from your post!
You have managed to impress me with your interesting informational article. That’s no small feat. I share many of your same views that you’ve expressed very well in this content.
Your article is an excellent example of great writing. Your viewpoints are introduced clearly with intelligent commentary. I agree with many of your innovative ideas. It’s obvious that you know your topic. You are talented.
Your article has inspired me. It’s interesting, thoughtful, compelling and well-written. You are a very talented writer with great skills and original thoughts. Your viewpoints match mine in many ways.
This is very smart content. This kind of information can’t be easy to write. It has to take real dedication and much research to put together this much quality content.
I’m glad someone has taken the time to go into detail on this subject. All I have seen up to this point is very shallow writings. I can use this.
This article is top-notch. Your points are presented with intelligent and thoughtful content. Your contribution to this subject matter is more interesting than what I have found in other articles.
I do not usually find this type of data interesting, but you have proven that a talented writer can take information that is often considered dull and make it pop.
You are great with words. I’m sure you worked really hard on this article, and it shows. I agree with a lot of your material. I enjoyed this and I will be back for more.
How important is quality content to me? It’s one of the most important factors that draws me to read. I am going to follow your articles because they are great.
I can’t imagine focusing long enough to research; much less write this kind of article. You’ve outdone yourself with this material. This is great content.
I have to give your article a top rating. This is well-written, beneficial content that other writers fail to produce. You are a true talent.
Thanks a lot! I really enjoyed reading this. It makes me want to create my own blog.
I’m fascinated with the subject matter of your article. You’re a great writer with true insight. I enjoyed reading your views and appreciate your dedication to writing. Very interesting content.
What can I say about this article? You have done a bang up job of making your points clear and I agree with you on most. I enjoyed this reading.
This article is very appealing to thinking people like me. It’s not only thought-provoking, it draws you in from the beginning. This is well-written content. The views here are also appealing to me. Thank you.
This is a very good article! Thanks for making this information interesting. I enjoyed this article a lot and I share many of your views.
I wish I could give you an award for this content. Your article rates a blue ribbon in my opinion. This is great quality content.
Fabulous Ready Made Curtains at Fantastic Prices
Some readers might think there is a lot of information to digest in this article. I think it’s so clear and well formatted that it’s easy to read and digest. This writing is nicely done.
An assessment number of the least expensive jordan shoes shoes or boots.If you are looking to get a new jordan shoes shoes or boots,here is the website you want to go to!
So wurde zum Exempel der Tongkat Ali Extrakt, der in der Dialog nicht (mehr) jungfräulich wurde, in einem Universitätslabor präpariert – anhand einer akkurat kontrollierten Genauigkeit.
Informative content like you’ve written here is usually rather drab and lacking in varying views. You, on the other hand have managed to make this interesting and varied. I share many of your unique thoughts.
This article is loaded with useful information. You’ve really provoked my interest on many points written here. I concur with nearly all points and am thinking on the rest. Thank you for a great article.
Many times I have to read between the lines in online content because it’s so poorly written. I was delighted to find such great information.
I can’t even begin to imagine how much work you did on this article. This is really great content that I can grasp. Great job.
Impressive content is the way I am going to describe this article for starters. Your gift for original informative content is unsurpassed on this subject.
This is the first time I was able to read an article on this topic without being bored. Thanks for keeping my interest and attention.
This article is a prime example of great informational material. Your points are valid and I agree with much of your data. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge on this subject. This is great.