Tag Archives: Christmas carols

liturgy of lessons and carols

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Dec snow 2013

I heard the bells
chiming in the cold north breeze
wind chimes sound the carol
on this Christmas Eve day.
***
Let heaven and nature sing –
tiny finches twitter in the evergreen boughs
of fragrant cedar,
rejoicing on this Christmas Eve day.
***
O little town,
streets wet with rain,
reflections of hope and dreams
on this Christmas Eve day.
***
In the bleak midwinter,
skies hard with sleet
gray on gray on gray
on Christmas Eve day.
***
The holly and the ivy
caught up in the old hickory tree,
evergreen and ever new
on this Christmas Eve day.

I saw three ships

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I saw three ships

in the short afternoon light of Christmas Eve,
I walk to the shore carrying stale bread
to break with my fellow creatures

stirring in the dry winter grass,
sounds of the north winds greeting
while snow, still white in the hidden places of the wood,
is hushed and etched with tracks of rabbit and fox

three tiny ducks paddle across the cove
to share in the rite of our communion-
shyly accepting that which is freely given

brushing the crumbs from my gloves,
I watch the three feathered bodies
sail away
into the twilight of Christmas Eve
then turning to the setting sun,
I take the path back home

In the Bleak MidWinter

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Lake in snow Dec 2013

In the Bleak Midwinter

rime crusted snow
printed with track of fox and rabbit
a race to the burrow
where the vixen fell short
of feeding her hungry kits
and the swift hare lives to dance again

ice embossed tridents of bird track
gray dove feathers
spots of crimson blood
where the snowy owl found his target
and lives to hunt once more

runes of bone cast in the starlight
iridescent scales gleam
where the cold flesh of fish was devoured
and the silken mink lives to swim again

silently, the stars appear
where Orion hunts his nightly prey
life and death in the winter meadow
under the solstice moon

*** On our short hikes in this beautiful snow, we find tracks of all our fellow inhabitants that move mostly unseen – fox, deer, coyote, rabbit – and sometimes we run across evidence of the hunt.
All a part of the course of our seasons – K

Christmas at the Black Horse

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Christmas at the Black HorseBlack Horse Saloon Christmas Singalong

Every Monday night, the Black Horse Saloon in Hollister, MO, has an open mic night. Many wonderful local musicians as well as performers from the Branson shows will drop by to play. Guitars and banjos, mandolins, bass and fiddles are brought out of cases and with a little tuning, the music begins. Its an eclectic evening with many different musical genre coming together.
This past Monday night, Bob and I arrived with Bob’s guitar cases in hand. Our talented friend, Sam Clanton, started the evening off with a carol singalong.  With a backdrop of Christmas lights, the night continued with amazing guitarists and singers.
It was a joyous and fun way to celebrate the season!

Merry Christmas!