Christmas poems


A foot of snow on the ground,
Twinkling lights on houses all ‘round;
Subzero temps appear here to stay,
The sun slinks south, shortening the day.

The evidence is unmistakable,
While the mood is unshakable;
Another Christmas time is finally here,
Time to strive to be of good cheer.

Some may exchange presents,
Others prefer to remain absent…
But one thing remains for sure,
The Christmas message remains pure.

Seasonal music holds us in thrall,
Even if we stay home from the malls;
Time to give the best presents of all,
Love, hope, peace and goodwill for all.


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What will we find in our stockings tomorrow?
Ipods and flatscreens and digicams galore?
How much do gift givers’ credit cards borrow?
We do not have enough gadgets but want more!

Not like the long-passed days of yore,
With wooden toys or fragrant honey cakes,
Storybooks full of charming Victorian lore,
Plum pudding like only our Mother makes.

Still we can imagine the pastoral scenery,
Sleigh bells, pine trees, singing and mirth;
Old St. Nick squirming down the chimney,
To deliver his gifts despite his huge girth.
Chuckling and grateful for the offered snack,
Delivers wishes and magic from his huge sack.

Merry Christmas 2009

The way I see it


Given the fact that we already have many troops on the ground in Afghanistan, fighting a difficult, dirty campaign against the Taliban,

And given that our generals keep saying that with some more help they can wrap this thing up, and given that Pres. Obama allowed time for extensive debate and input before committing himself, and the nation, to action,

And especially given the statement that “We go in hard, and then get the heck out!”

Therefore, I support the additional troop deployment to Afghanistan. But in a couple of years, if we are sinking deeper and deeper, and they are crying for more and more bodies, I will be singing a very different tune. We have been at this for way too long already. We only have so many bodies to expend on this godforsaken piece of dry rock - may as well be fighting a battle for a piece of Mars or something. It doesn’t make sense, but then a lot of these wars never seem to make sense.

Lets go in and give it one last, big effort. And then, please, for the sake of humanity, let’s get the hell out. While we still have an economy left.