Because All Things Are Made of Light

December 24, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Christmas and Hanukkah. The first night of Hanukkah was Dec. 22, and Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A name and Hanukkah poem about the beauty of all Creation, in which everything is made of love and light:

Because all things are made of light –

One’s flesh, one’s thoughts, one’s self, one’s sight –

No candle need hold off the night,

Nor faith uncouple wrong from right.

Ill and good are equally bright.

Each being is with love bedight.

Let all things be with love bedight --

Instant oatmeal, Yoplait lite,

Lizards, snakes, sharks, snowflakes, bright

Immensities beyond our sight,

The drawing that one gets just right,

Hanukkah, a sleepless night.

Shall one love both day and night?

Each moment is with love bedight –

Times of wrong and times of right,

Hours of darkness, hours of light,

Ends unseen, an end in sight –

Love makes every moment bright.

In love with life, one’s tears are bright,

Zeal and zest survive the night,

All things grace the gift of sight –

Blessings with bad breath bedight,

Emails, entrails, Facebook lite,

Those who think wrongs make a right,

Hells, hawks, hymns, a holy rite.

Each stain, each star, each stone, each bright

Limpet equally of light,

Loved equally both day and night,

Each miracle with love bedight,

Nothing without love in sight.

Given all the gifts in sight –

A Christian prayer, a Jewish rite,

Bedbugs with one’s blood bedight,

Ecstasy, a brass blare bright,

Kisses in the sheltering night,

Eels, ants, aches, first morning light –

No thing in sight not made of light,

Nor is what’s right more wrong by night.

All things are bright, with love bedight.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/becau4.html. For more Hanukkah poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/chanukahpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Christmas and Hanukkah

12/23: Isn’t It Nice to Celebrate Twice

12/24: Because All Things Are Made of Light

Isn't It Nice to Celebrate Twice

December 23, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Christmas and Hanukkah. The first night of Hanukkah was last night, Dec. 22, and Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A combined Christmas and Hanukkah poem for a child of a mixed marriage who celebrates both:

Isn’t it nice to celebrate twice –

Christmas and Hanukkah?

To follow the ways of both holidays,

Lucky to be who you are?

On each of eight nights a candle to light,

Till all of them are aglow,

A moment of love in memory of

A light that was lit long ago.

And then there’s a tree to trim lovingly,

And presents beneath it to leave,

An evergreen tree for a life that will be

Eternal, at least some believe.

So celebrate twice ‘mid the cold rain and ice

Two holidays often apart.

But put together, despite the harsh weather,

They bring twice the warmth to the heart.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/isntit.html. For more poems about Christmas and Hanukkah, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/xmaschristmaspoems.html and https://www.poemsforfree.com/chanukahpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Christmas and Hanukkah

12/23: Isn’t It Nice to Celebrate Twice

To Mrs. Quinn, the Queen of Poetry

December 22, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A thank-you poem to an English teacher on her retirement:

To Mrs. Quinn, the Queen of Poetry:

Having held for twenty years your teas

And given to us all the gift of beauty,

Now you may at last enjoy your ease,

Knowing the sweet ending of your duty.

You've walked among the loveliest of trees,

Out gathering the harvest, rich and fruity,

Undying words that feed the will to be.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/tomrsq.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

12/18: Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

12/19: The Greatest Gifts Are Those That Cost Us Least

12/20: Thank You for the Things You’ve Done for Me

12/21: Thank You for Being the Heart of My Life

12/22: To Mrs. Quinn, the Queen of Poetry

Thank You for Being the Heart of My Life

December 21, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A thank-you poem for love:

Thank you for being the heart of my life,

Harboring me in the arms of your love,

Anchoring me in the rock of your faith,

Needing me, that I not be in vain,

Knowing me well, yet loving me still.

You are the island I've found in my sea,

Ocean I dwell in and deep where I dive,

Unfailing heaven and passionate earth.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/than17.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

12/18: Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

12/19: The Greatest Gifts Are Those That Cost Us Least

12/20: Thank You for the Things You’ve Done for Me

12/21: Thank You for Being the Heart of My Life

Thank You for the Things You've Done for Me

December 20, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A thank-you poem thanking a friend for help through a difficult time:

Thank you for the things you've done for me.

Happiness walks slowly, with a cane.

Although inside I'm dancing to the moon,

Nearby many obstacles remain.

Kind help like yours those thorny thickets prune.

You are my willing ear, the peaceful sea

On which I sail my thoughts, the quiet tune

Underneath my laughter and my pain.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thank7.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

12/18: Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

12/19: The Greatest Gifts Are Those That Cost Us Least

12/20: Thank You for the Things You’ve Done for Me

The Greatest Gifts Are Those That Cost Us Least

December 19, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A thank-you poem for the greatest gift:

The greatest gifts are those that cost us least:

Price varies inversely with true worth.

Life itself's a free gift of the earth

Born of ecstatic joy in plant and beast.

What more exquisite present than a bower

Of wild roses in adolescent bloom?

Yet all that vivid color and perfume

Exist to serve the interests of the flower.

Love is such a gift. One trusts its treasure,

Free as the strange bright outbursts of a bird,

Equally uncanny and absurd,

Comes not from sweat or sacrifice, but pleasure.

I'm grateful for the gift you bought. But do

Remember that the greatest gift is you.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/gifcos.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

12/18: Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

12/19: The Greatest Gifts Are Those That Cost Us Least

Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

December 18, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A thank-you poem for get-well letters, cards, and calls:

Thank you for your letters, cards, and calls,

Heartfelt prayers, and thoughts while I was ill,

A wind that bears us on when courage stalls,

Needed to sustain a weakened will.

Kindness is a balm that works on wounds

Yet unhealed by reasoning alone.

Our suffering abated, life resumes,

Undergirt by strength more than our own.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/than33.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

12/18: Thank You for Your Letters, Cards, and Calls

Thank You All for Coming Here

December 17, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A poem to thank guests for coming to a birthday party:

Thank you all for coming here

To celebrate my life.

But most of all I'd like to thank

My lovely, loving wife.

One gives up a lot for love

In freedom, time, and tears,

And makes commitments that must last

For lifetimes, not just years.

What one gets I can see here --

A world one can call home,

A space that's safe for innocence,

A common comfort zone.

And so I'm glad that you have come,

All gathered in this place

To share this bit of birthday joy,

To share this glimpse of grace;

To share this meal with me as I

Another year accrue,

That I might know the happiness

I wish for all of you.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/than45.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

12/17: Thank You All for Coming Here

Maybe There's No Way That I Can Thank You

December 16, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Saying Thank You.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A name and thank-you poem about the inadequacy of art to express the fullness of one’s gratitude:

Maybe there’s no way that I can thank you.

I would, however, certainly like to try.

Caring needs no cause or reason why.

Hardwired to happiness, it sustains you.

And so there is no way to recompense you

Equal to the joy that meets the eye.

Let this be, then, merely a reply,

A bit of fancy that I hope might please you.

Nor can the song that sings within my heart

Descend upon the stage of my desire,

Prepared to turn my feelings into grace.

Out of thwarted need, I turn to art,

Like settling for the painting of a fire,

Less than a true rendering would require,

Yet what I would now tender in its place.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb17.html. For more thank-you poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thankyoupoems.html .

This week’s theme: Saying Thank You

12/16: Maybe There’s No Way That I Can Thank You

Seasons Sing with Unrelenting Passion

December 15, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Season’s Greetings.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A Season’s Greetings poem about how the seasons shape one’s inner life:

Seasons sing with unrelenting passion,

Each delighted utterly to be.

All are beautiful in their own fashion,

Singing songs that shape the way we see.

Oceans dance to music not their own,

Needing moon and wind to shape their will,

‘Mid mind and act a choice, but not alone,

Shifted by the shore, yet dancing still.

Grace comes from without and from within,

Receding and then turning back, like tides,

Enduring as desire, as faith, as whim,

Enduring where one’s sense of life abides.

The seasons come and go, the rhythm of

Imagination, longing, will, and love.

Nor can one be whole except as part,

Giving voice to a collective art,

Singing, singing to a common heart.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seaso4.html. For more Seasons Greetings poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seasonsgreetingspoems.html .

This week’s theme: Season’s Greetings

12/9: Sentimental Moments Are Well Planned

12/10: Some Sense Soon the Sense of Celebration

12/11: Sense Is Not the Sense of Celebrations

12/12: So Shall the Changing Seasons Mark the Year

12/13: Sing of the Holidays That Send One Home

12/14: Seasons Come and Go; the Love Remains

12/15: Seasons Sing with Unrelenting Passion

Seasons Come and Go; the Love Remains

December 14, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Season’s Greetings.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A Season’s Greetings poem about letting go ambition and will to make poetry of your love:

Seasons come and go; the love remains.

Each year the winter tolls the passing time

As holidays provide a welcome sign,

Summoning the joy that life sustains.

O Wanderer, let go ambitious aims,

Nor seek to make your days and dreams align!

Seek instead what’s never yours or mine,

Gift of one who goes by many names.

Remember that your love’s your only home,

Embracing what you have as what you will,

Even when your heart is full of yearning,

The music that turns sorrow into song.

In every deep-felt passion there’s a poem

Needing only some deft writer’s skill.

Go, then, write your verses, turning, turning,

Sure as ever of where you belong.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seaso3.html. For more Seasons Greetings poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seasonsgreetingspoems.html .

This week’s theme: Season’s Greetings

12/9: Sentimental Moments Are Well Planned

12/10: Some Sense Soon the Sense of Celebration

12/11: Sense Is Not the Sense of Celebrations

12/12: So Shall the Changing Seasons Mark the Year

12/13: Sing of the Holidays That Send One Home

12/14: Seasons Come and Go; the Love Remains

Sing of the Holidays That Send One Home

December 13, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Season’s Greetings.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A Season’s Greetings poem about the holidays as a communion, if not of faith, then of art:

Sing of the holidays that send one home,

Each family gathering to celebrate

A miracle, a myth, a meal, a date,

Some rite each generation makes its own.

O sing of ancient tales out on loan!

Nor need one faith to fill a festive plate,

Singing of the symbols that relate

Grace and love to energies unknown.

Remember, then, to keep the holidays

Even if their universe has changed,

Even if the faith that once sustained them

Takes a leap that will not cross one’s heart.

In rituals one walks the ancient ways,

Nor ought one by reason be estranged,

Given one has chosen to retain them,

Sharing the communion of their art.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/sing16.html For more Seasons Greetings poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seasonsgreetingspoems.html .

This week’s theme: Season’s Greetings

12/9: Sentimental Moments Are Well Planned

12/10: Some Sense Soon the Sense of Celebration

12/11: Sense Is Not the Sense of Celebrations

12/12: So Shall the Changing Seasons Mark the Year

12/13: Sing of the Holidays That Send One Home

So Shall the Changing Seasons Mark the Year.2

December 12, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Season’s Greetings.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A Season’s Greetings poem about the beauty of celebrating holidays in the vestibule of winter:

So shall the changing seasons mark the year,

Earth tilted at an angle towards the sun,

As all dance to that rhythm, everyone

Singing down the days, sun-drenched or drear.

One needs holidays to make things clear,

Needs rituals to choreograph time's run,

Singing as the cycle’s almost done,

Glad still to be although the cold winds near.

Remember that this time of celebration

Endures within the vestibule of winter,

Endures because one’s joy in life requires

That one undo the dark with inner light.

It needs an unremitting affirmation,

Not least because the season can be bitter,

Grace consuming one’s lifelong desires,

So beautiful one dances into night.

© by Nicholas Gordon

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/sosha4.html. For more Seasons Greetings poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/seasonsgreetingspoems.html .

This week’s theme: Season’s Greetings

12/9: Sentimental Moments Are Well Planned

12/10: Some Sense Soon the Sense of Celebration

12/11: Sense Is Not the Sense of Celebrations

12/12: So Shall the Changing Seasons Mark the Year