December 30, 2012
December 28, 2012
Poetry Friday--2013 Nengajyou
Happy New Year! Once again I'm participating in a New Year's haiku postcard exchange, a nengajyou in Japan where the custom originated. (See past posts here, here, and here.)
I've already received about a dozen New Year's greetings and I expect more will be trickling in over the next few weeks. This year I sent about three dozen cards to 16 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, India, Ireland, the Sultanate of Oman, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
The year 2013 is the year of the snake, so I've included a photo with not one, but two snakes! The photo is from 1927 and comes courtesy of Library of Congress. To learn about the characteristics of the zodiac symbol, the snake, click here.
The text on the postcard did not reproduce well on the blog, so if you're having trouble reading it, here is the haiku:
The last Poetry Friday Round-Up of 2012 is being held at Carol's Corner. Have a safe and happy New Year!
I've already received about a dozen New Year's greetings and I expect more will be trickling in over the next few weeks. This year I sent about three dozen cards to 16 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, India, Ireland, the Sultanate of Oman, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
The year 2013 is the year of the snake, so I've included a photo with not one, but two snakes! The photo is from 1927 and comes courtesy of Library of Congress. To learn about the characteristics of the zodiac symbol, the snake, click here.
The text on the postcard did not reproduce well on the blog, so if you're having trouble reading it, here is the haiku:
first show and tell--"First" is a kigo, that is, a word that is used to imply a season or time, in this case, the new year, without coming right out and saying it! For example, if I wrote "pumpkin," you would automatically know it was fall. "Snow" = winter. "Robin" = spring. "Fireworks" = summer (for the 4th of July in the U.S., in another country, fireworks might imply something else).
"I told Santa I love
surprises!"
The last Poetry Friday Round-Up of 2012 is being held at Carol's Corner. Have a safe and happy New Year!
December 25, 2012
December 23, 2012
December 21, 2012
Poetry Friday--A Winter Solstice
The winter solstice is a marking of the time when light will begin to return, little by little, leading to its culmination in the summer solstice. For now, in this mid-winter, celebrants light the darkness with fire and candles.
December 13, as you may know, is St. Lucia's Day (Luciadagen) in Sweden, Italy (Lucia was born in Sicily), and other countries. Before the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the date of the winter solstice also fell on December 13. It is no coincidence, therefore, that St. Lucia's Day is a celebration marked by lights. It is an example of how Pagan and Christian meld.
The name Lucia (or Lucy) means light or lucidity. St. Lucia (circa 283-304 AD) became the patron saint of those with eye problems and also of glassworkers. The story arose that Lucia, who was blinded, had her sight restored by her faith in God. (Depending on which story, she either plucked her eyes out herself to thwart an unwanted suitor, or, she was tortured by the authorities after a spurned suitor denounced her as a Christian.)
The celebration of St. Lucia's Day in Sweden traditionally begins with a daughter waking her parents and serving them coffee and saffron buns (saffraan broodjes) for breakfast. This child (Lussibrud, which means "Lucy bride") wears a white dress with a red sash, and a crown of greens and lit candles.
Carl Larsson, "The Feast of St. Lucy on 13th December, 1916."
As a result of the events of last Friday, I found St. Lucy in my thoughts and wrote this, obviously not in the same spirit as the poem above:
18th century oil painting, probably Peruvian, courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Heidi is hosting a special celebration of the solstice and rounding up all the Poetry Friday posts. Visit her at My Juicy Little Universe.
December 13, as you may know, is St. Lucia's Day (Luciadagen) in Sweden, Italy (Lucia was born in Sicily), and other countries. Before the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the date of the winter solstice also fell on December 13. It is no coincidence, therefore, that St. Lucia's Day is a celebration marked by lights. It is an example of how Pagan and Christian meld.
The name Lucia (or Lucy) means light or lucidity. St. Lucia (circa 283-304 AD) became the patron saint of those with eye problems and also of glassworkers. The story arose that Lucia, who was blinded, had her sight restored by her faith in God. (Depending on which story, she either plucked her eyes out herself to thwart an unwanted suitor, or, she was tortured by the authorities after a spurned suitor denounced her as a Christian.)
The celebration of St. Lucia's Day in Sweden traditionally begins with a daughter waking her parents and serving them coffee and saffron buns (saffraan broodjes) for breakfast. This child (Lussibrud, which means "Lucy bride") wears a white dress with a red sash, and a crown of greens and lit candles.
Lussibrud
Trembling
with concentration
she carries her head
as if the candles were
not battery powered.
Innocent
but no martyr, she
will have her share
of sweet buns before
catching the bus.
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
As a result of the events of last Friday, I found St. Lucy in my thoughts and wrote this, obviously not in the same spirit as the poem above:
The Day After St. Lucy's Day, 2012
Lucy, your holy-day passed
quietly, unnoticed by most,
and the day that followed
put an end to any thoughts
of the forthcoming light.
A crushing, unrelenting
hopelessness fell upon us,
like it must have come upon
you as the judge ordered your
eyes ripped from your skull.
Who was there for you, Lucy,
enduring your screams? Don't
tell me your God! It was
your mother--only she could
look in your face and not recoil.
Your blindness is your faith.
Your faith is your blindness.
If our vision is to be restored
we will need more than light--
we'll need a mother's selflessness.
You're free to pray, Lucy,
but we have mothering to do.
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
Heidi is hosting a special celebration of the solstice and rounding up all the Poetry Friday posts. Visit her at My Juicy Little Universe.
December 18, 2012
December 16, 2012
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