A Christmas Prayer

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin and enter in;

Be born in us today!

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord Emmanuel!

--Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

 

Break Forth, O Beauteous, Heavenly Light

Break forth, O beauteous, heavenly light,

And usher in the morning;

O shepherds, greet that glorious sight,

Our Lord a crib adorning.

This child, this little helpless boy,

Shall be our confidence and joy,

The power of Satan breaking,

Our peace eternal making.

--Johann Rist (1607-1667);

   anonymous English translation from the German 

Winter Solstice

Winter began with the solstice today at 5:02 A.M. eastern standard time. Here is an untitled poem that American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote about the winter solstice.

These are the days that Reindeer love

And pranks the Northern star --

This is the Sun's objective,

And Finland of the Year.

This poem is in the public domain.

Found Poem from a Letter by Emily Dickinson

A letter from Elizabeth Holland (Mrs. J. G. Holland) to American poet Emily Dickinson and her sister jointly, in 1877, called forth this protest. This is a found poem of mine from Emily's letter to Mrs. J. G. Holland.

A mutual plum is not a plum.

I was too respectful

to take the pulp

and do not like a stone.

Send no union letters.

The soul must go by Death alone,

so, it must by life,

if it is a soul.

If a committee --

no matter.

Source: Letters by Emily Dickinson, selected and edited by Emily Fragos (copyright 2011 by Everyman's Library) 

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 7)

Every day this week, starting on Advent Sunday, I have posted one of the seven stanzas of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Yesterday I posted stanza 6 of that hymn. Here is the seventh and final stanza of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." To read an article about that hymn, click here.

O come, Desire of Nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid thou our sad divisions cease,

And be thyself our King of Peace.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 6)

Yesterday I posted the fifth of the seven stanzas of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Here is stanza 6 of that hymn. Tomorrow I will post stanza 7.

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 5)

Yesterday I posted the fourth of the seven stanzas of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Here is stanza 5 of that hymn. Tomorrow I will post stanza 6.

O come, thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 4)

Here is stanza 4 of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Tomorrow I will post the fifth of this hymn's seven stanzas.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny;

From depths of hell thy people save,

And give them victory o'er the grave.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 3)

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." So reads in part Isaiah 7:14 in the English Standard Version of the Bible. Here is stanza 3 of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Tomorrow I will post stanza 4 of this Latin hymn.

O come, o come, thou Lord of Might,

Who to thy tribes on Sinai's height

In ancient times did give thy Law,

In cloud and majesty and awe.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 2)

Yesterday I posted stanza 1 of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Here below is stanza 2. The Bible says in part, "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.' Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,' which being interpreted is, 'God with us.'" So reads Matthew 1:20-23 (King James Version). Tomorrow I will post stanza 3 of this Latin hymn.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,

Who ord'rest all things mightily;

To us the path of Knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 1)

 This is Advent Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting. This week I am posting all seven stanzas of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866), one stanza per diem. Here is stanza 1 of that Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas. The official lyric video of Enya singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" in both English and Latin follows the stanza. Tomorrow I will post stanza 2.

O come, o come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Vote

Vote, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.

--from The Devil's Dictionary (1911) by Ambrose Bierce (1842-ca. 1914)

Louis L'Amour (1908-1988)

The Converse of the Golden Rule

An untitled poem of Jesus Christ from the Bible:

Luke 6:27-31 (New Revised Standard Version)

But I say to you that listen,

Love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you,

pray for those who abuse you.

If anyone strikes you on the cheek,

offer the other also;

and from anyone who takes away your coat

do not withhold even your shirt.

Give to everyone who begs from you;

and if anyone takes away your goods,

do not ask for them again.

Do to others

as you would have them do to you.

The words of detective Lew Archer

in the novel Black Money (1966)

by Ross Macdonald

 

Quotation on Wet Leaves

 Henri-Frederic Amiel (1821-1881)

was a Swiss moral philosopher,

poet and critic.

To read an article about him, click here.

Fatigue: A Poet Responds

 Jill Kandel recently said of her poem "Fatigue," "CNN carried a story on September 27 that the US cases have surpassed 7 million, and we can still expect to see an explosion of Covid-19 this fall and winter. I wanted to write beneath the surface of the pandemic, the veneer of daily frustrations, and into the heart of our sorrows."

To read "Fatigue" by Jill Kandel, click here.

O Perfect Love

 Here is a hymn, a prayer, by Dorothy B. Gurney (1858-1932) for Robert and Megan on this their wedding day.

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,

Lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,

That theirs may be the love which knows no ending,

Whom thou forevermore dost join in one.

O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance

Of tender charity and steadfast faith,

Of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,

With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death.

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;

Grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife,

And to life's day the glorious unknown morrow

That dawns upon eternal love and life.

The poem above, which was first published in 1883, is in the public domain.

An anonymous quotation

Emily Dickinson: A Recluse, Yes?

 

From the story "The Letting Down of the Hair"

in The Book of Folly (1972) by Anne Sexton

From the Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates

to The Essential Emily Dickinson (1996),

poems selected by Joyce Carol Oates

Me

 Me, pro. The objectionable case of I. The personal pronoun in English has three cases, the dominative, the objectionable and the oppressive. Each is all three.

-- from The Devil's Dictionary (1911) by Ambrose Bierce (1842-ca. 1914)

President Donald Trump

Trump is always thinking of himself.

Trees: A Quotation from Willa Cather

 

To read an article about American author Willa Cather (1873-1947), click here.

We Wear the Mask

WE WEAR THE MASK

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--

This debt we owe to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

     We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

     We wear the mask!

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

To read an article about Paul Laurence Dunbar, click here.

     

August Fogs

Folklore often says each fog in August means another snowfall in winter. The English proverb in the photo below says otherwise.

 

Timepieces

Here is a found poem of mine titled "Timepieces," a found poem consisting of quotations from Edward Gorey and Christina Rossetti. It is on page 53 of the 2020 edition (the Spring 2020 issue) of The Bluestone Review. To read the 2020 edition of The Bluestone Review in its entirety online, click here.

 

Trusting God Gives Strength

"Union gives strength," said Aesop. As the quotation below, Isaiah 40:28-31, from the Second Edition (1992) of the Good News Translation of the Bible says, so does trusting God.

Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts. He strengthens those who are weak and tired. Even those who are young grow weak; young people can fall exhausted. But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

 

The Expected Fury: A Quotation

Earth seems to hold her breath before the expected fury. Lightning scores the sky from zenith to horizon, and across from north to south "a fierce, vindictive scribble of fire" writes its blinding way, and the awesome silence is broken by the cracking thunder that follows every flash.

Celia Thaxter (1835-1894)

Quoted in Thoughts from the Mountains (Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

To read an article about Celia Thaxter, click here.

                                                                  

The Great Realisation | Tomfoolery

The Power of the Gospel

From the Bible: Romans 1:16-17

(Good News Translation)

Paul wrote:

I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through faith shall live."

Quoted in the June/July 1986 issue of the

American Bible Society Record

To read an article about Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), click here.

The Last Words of David

From the Bible: 2 Samuel 23:1-7

(King James Version)

Now these be the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse said,

and the man who was raised up on high,

the anointed of the God of Jacob,

and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,

and his word was in my tongue.

The God of Israel said,

the Rock of Israel spake to me,

He that ruleth over men must be just,

ruling in the fear of God.

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,

even a morning without clouds;

as the tender grass springing out of the earth

by clear shining after rain.

Although my house be not so with God;

yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things, and sure:

for this is all my salvation, and all my desire,

although he make it not to grow.

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away,

because they cannot be taken with hands:

but the man that shall touch them

must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear;

and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.

Story of the Week: Paul’s Case

Story of the Week: Paul’s Case: Willa Cather (1873–1947)

"It was Paul's afternoon to appear before the faculty of the Pittsburgh High School to account for his various misdemeanors." So begins Willa Cather's famous short story "Paul's Case." To read the story in its entirety and Library of America's introduction to it, click on the link above.

Story of the Week: “The natural right of all Men—& their Children”

Read Story of the Week: “The natural right of all Men—& their Children”: Lancaster Hill, Peter Bess, Brister Slenser, Prince Hall, et al.

We Are All In This Together

A Trio of Penguins

According to the June 12, 2020, issue of The Week Magazine, "A trio of penguins bored by the lockdown of their zoo were given a private tour of an art gallery in Kansas City to 'enrich and stimulate' them. 'Our animals really miss humans coming up to see them,' said Randy Wisthoff, the Kansas City Zoo's CEO. So he and museum officials arranged the visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum, where the penguins waddled through empty galleries, gazing up at the paintings. 'They seem to react much better to Caravaggio than Monet,' noted the museum's director."

To visit The Week Magazine's website, click here.

Another trio of penguins

A Quotation from Anne Sexton

Here is a line from the poem "Anna Who Was Mad" in The Book of Folly (1972) by American poet Anne Sexton, who was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1928 and lived all of her life in or near Boston. Her first book of poems, To Bedlam and Part Way Back, was published in 1960; her last, Words for Dr. Y., was published after her death, by her own hand, in 1974. She won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1967 for Live or Die. To read more about Anne Sexton, click here.

Puzzle: Caller ID

Can you identify an actor who was born in England on June 1, 1996? He attended the BRIT School for performing arts and technology. Early in his career he was on stage as Billy Elliot. His acting web, however, has grown to include a popular superhero and many other notable roles. His name can be dialed on a telephone as 866-465-5263. What is this actor's name?

To read more about this English actor click here.

Naming the Trees

"Naming the Trees" is a poem by Bruce Guernsey in which he is visiting the national cemetery in Gettysburg and giving us a poem for Memorial Day. To read "Naming the Trees," which is forthcoming in the fall issue of The Sow's Ear Poetry Review, click here.

Stars and Stripes

(Photo by Gerd Altmann)

Rebelling against sanity

"Our country was born in rebellion against authority, so it's no surprise Americans have always had a strong libertarian streak." So begins the editor's letter by editor-in-chief William Falk in the May 22, 2020, issue of The Week Magazine. To read Falk's letter in its entirety, click here.

A Pretty Pass

"I'd say you were lucky to go when you did." So wrote American poet Ted Kooser in his poem "A Pretty Pass," which, as he said, "is obviously written in response to COVID-19." To read the poem "A Pretty Pass" by Ted Kooser, click here.

4 One-Word Prayers for Finding Calm

Pastor Bob Hostetler shares short, easy-to-remember prayers to help you push past anxiety.

To read his article, click here.

Children

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." So reads Proverbs 16:18 in the Bible. In his song "Children" American singer and songwriter Joe South quoted that Bible verse. Here is a video of Joe South singing "Children."

Stuck in Quarantine? Find Comfort in God's Words

Are you stuck in quarantine? If you want to find comfort in God's words, click here. As Davina McDonald, the author of that blog entry, says, "God's Word speaks to us wherever we are."

Christ Arose

Today is Easter, the Day of Resurrection. Here are the words -- the three stanzas and the refrain -- of the hymn "Up from the Grave He Arose" (1874) by Robert Lowry. Happy Easter!

The Guard at the Tomb of Jesus

Today is Holy Saturday, the Day of Silence. The quotations below from Robert Lowry are the three stanzas of his hymn "Up from the Grave He Arose" (1874).

     Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, 'He is risen from the dead': so the last error shall be worse than the first."

--The Bible: Matthew 27:62-64 (King James Version)

Pilate said unto them, "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

--The Bible: Matthew 27:65-66 (King James Version)

Good Friday: Jesus, Remember Me

     One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

--The Bible: Luke 23:39-43 (English Standard Version)

(King James Version)

Tuesday in Holy Week

TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK
by Christina Rossetti

By Thy long-drawn anguish to atone,
Jesus Christ, show mercy on Thine own:
Jesus Christ, show mercy and atone
Not for other sake except Thine own.

Thou Who thirsting on the Cross didst see
All mankind and all I love and me,
Still from Heaven look down in love and see
All mankind and all I love and me.


Source: Verses (1893) by Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

To read an article about English poet Christina Rossetti, click here.

Palm Sunday Hymn

PALM SUNDAY HYMN
by George Klingle

Looking back across the years, O Christ, we see Thee go
'Midst hosannas of the throngs passing to and fro,
'Midst the adoration cries ringing on Thy way --
Voices of the wavering ones lifted for a day.

We hosannas echo on, O Christ, and lift to Thee
Songs of adoration too, and bend adoring knee,
But, though faltering and weak, may we not forget
Like the throngs of long ago, the Heart that loveth yet.

Help us to follow all the way, O Christ, nor turn aside.
'Midst Thy shadows, or Thy light, there would we abide;
Though the world hath scarred Thy name, mark it on our breast --
Sweetest name in all the world that ever Love confessed.


Source: Christ in Poetry (1952), an anthology compiled and edited by Thomas Curtis Clark and Hazel Davis Clark

Source of this poem of Jesus Christ:
The Bible (King James Version)

A Bit of Poetry about April

April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
     --from "The Garden Year" by Sara Coleridge

You Moved Your Whole Town

The lines in the photograph below are quoted from the poem "You Moved Your Whole Town" by Paul T. Corrigan. To read that poem, click here.

The Color Blue

Here are two quotations about the color blue, one from Scottish novelist and poet George MacDonald (1824-1905) and the other from English essayist, critic and reformer John Ruskin (1819-1900). To read an article about the color blue, click here.

Baby blues

Where did you get those eyes so blue?

Out of the sky as I came through.

--George MacDonald

March Water

Source of the quotation:

Thoughts from the Mountains

(Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

A Quotation from Cynthia Ozick

Source of the quotation:

Thoughts from the Mountains
(Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

To read an article about American short-story writer, novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick, click here.

An Anonymous Bit of Poetry

Source of the quotation: 

Thoughts from the Mountains (Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

Dakota Haiku

Dakotas believe

we will be known forever

by the tracks we leave.

To read an article about the Dakota people, click here.

(Haiku and photo copyright 2020 Monty Gilmer. All rights reserved.)

A Winter Prayer

As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night,

shall not cease.

--Genesis 8:22 

(New Revised Standard Version)

Sometimes, Father, frigid winter blankets my spirit. Gray days become a harsh and heavy burden. And then I remember how You promised Noah winter and summer, seedtime and harvest, day and night, cold and heat as long as the earth shall live. Help me to understand; the barren and difficult times are not a curse, but part of a blessing -- Your wonderful, ever changing gift: life.

Quoted in Thoughts from the Mountains (Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

To read an article about Guideposts, click here.

A Bit of Poetry about February

February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
     --from "The Garden Year" (1834) by Sara Coleridge


The following is a weather-related word game for you to play:

Can you change the word RAIN into the word SNOW in as few steps as possible? Change only one letter at a time, making a new word each time, and do not change the order of the letters from one step to the next. Proper names, slang, obsolete words and vulgar words are not allowed.

Haiku

Here is a haiku of mine that I dedicate to the memory of Richard Brautigan, who was born on this day in 1935 in Tacoma, Washington.


JANUARY 30

Eating dinner this
evening I realize nights
are getting shorter.

Creation's Dawn

The following is a quotation from Dewitt Jones:

I used to envy the father of our race, dwelling as he did in contact with the new-made fields and plants of Eden; but I do so no more, because I have discovered that I also live in "creation's dawn." The morning stars still sing together, and the world, not yet half made, becomes more beautiful every day.

Source: Thoughts from the Mountains (Heartland Samplers, Inc., 1992)

To read an article about Dewitt Jones, click here.