StarPoet Newsletter Vol. IX, No. L

 

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson c. 2008 CE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

counting down an aging year, a failed presidency, an ancient sin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

 

The sleepy muters, heads pressing
Against the still dark crystal,
Count the minutes well lidded,
Tracking the clack clack clack
Of the curves and the lurches
Until woken at their final destination.

 

2.

 

Drip, drizzle, the darking night
Sucks the morning out of the sunlight;
Fog and mist, wetly scattered
Soaks the life from the fettered air,
Lulling the half-stirred muters
Deeper into their jerry-rigged dreams.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- Emma Goldman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Run easily, run swift,
Run always, hearts alive,

 

Past the stars, past the sun,
Past the earth, who would hide?

 

Leave all your sins behind
And run,

 

Hand in hand with your lover,
Run,

 

Run, I tell you,
Run, run.

 

You’ve nothing left to lose.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

music

 

 

 

 

 

It hurts to think that Beethoven
Never hear The Ninth played live,
That he gave it us without a sound
Then surrendered to the silence and the grave.

 

I know he knew what it was he wrote
-- Genius knows genius when she does it –
But the frustration he felt behind his closed doors
Was almost enough to cock the trigger.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- Dorothy Parker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

love

 

 

 

 

 

I want to hold her,
Protect her against the darkness
I know is out there, but I cannot stop her,
I cannot change who she is
Or who I am.

I know the rules,
I know the necessity,
We both know that some things
Are more important
Than either of us.

 

We don’t speak of this,
We won’t speak of this,
But we both know what is unsaid
And what must be done,
So I hold her when I can
And love her always.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With every year the holiday season
Seems less magic than the one before;
Parents gone, children grown
And I no longer wake at five a. m.
To see what Santa has brought.

 

When did I start waiting
Until after breakfast for my presents,
What moment made Christmas
Just another Thanksgiving
Wrapped in ribbon instead of stuffing?

 

Still this winter convergence of me and Sharon,
With my adult daughters gathered around our table
And my son, the Marine, a phone call away in Baghdad,
Is more than a simple weekend supper,
Greater than this roasted goose and cannoli.

Whether I call this celebration Christmas,
Chanukah, Saturnalia, or Solstice,
This December congress of family and tradition
Binds us all in our deep humanity, if only for a day,
Giving hope for our future and treasure for all our memories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

more ornament

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I were to believe in anything,
I would like to think that Santa was real,
That eight tiny reindeer carry him world around
From Christmas Eve to Christmas morning,
Not missing a single girl or boy;
That on foggy nights and snow evenings,
Rudolph lights the way ahead,
And that beneath the tree come Christmas sunrise,
My deepest wish will be there;
And at dinner that afternoon, everyone everywhere
Will find their parents and grandparents,
Their brothers and sisters,
And all their many children and grandchildren
Gathered around the holiday table
To celebrate our families, the coming new year,
And all those memories we cherish most.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

good cheer

 

 

 

 

 

Chestnuts bursting in the microwave,
Jack Frost sliding all your cars,
Karaoke carols being sung by some drunk,
And sweaters with Christmas trees and snow.

Everybody knows a charge card and next January's bills
Help to make the season bright,
Tiny tots with wishlists on Amazon
Won't have any worries tonight,

 

They know that Santa's on his way

Loaded with promises and tax cuts on his sleigh,
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

 

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from fetus to a ninety-two,
Although it's been said many times, many ways,
A very merry [please insert an acceptable holiday term] to you.

 

 

Lisa Jain Thompson
December 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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