Winter Songs And Holiday Expressions:A Facebook Poetry Anthology by Frances Ayers-Editor (new books to read .TXT) 📕

Table Of Contents

Forward

Brian Wrixon

Christmas Wonders 12
Christmas At The Front 14

Jemmy Farmer

Wish For Children 17
Imbolc Prayer 19
Yuletide Night 20
Farewell To Winter's Dun 21
A Blessed Birth 22

Raven Lee Baxter

Just Out Of Reach(Senryu) 23
Friends 24
Autumn Flurry(Haiku Chain) 26
Christmas Joy(Senryu Chain) 27
A Winters Tale(Haiku Chain) 28



Diwakar Pokhriyal

Mother In Family(Cromorna) 31
Love Conquers All(Baccesize) 31
Friends(Acrostic) 32
God's Blessing 34

Laura Lamarca

To Drift And Fall(Tanka) 36
Milestones(Loose Sapphic) 38
Icicle Traits Of Cotton Floss Snow 39
(A La Tuin)
Treasured Pleasures(Etheree) 41
Christmas Tree 43

Aparna Pathak

Progress 44
Long Wait 45
Between Me And You A World Lies 48
Mother 49

Iulia Ghergei

Joy On Christmas 52
The Fall 54
Whispers Of Me 55


Michelle D'costa

Tug Of War 58
Christmas Carols 59
Love By Candlelight 62
Snowman 62
Hungry On Christmas Day 65

Jane Larkin Lynahan

Happiness And Tears(Sonnet) 68
Lift A Glass 70
Starlight(Haiku) 70
Winter 72
The Mountain Snowfall 72

Pradipta Kumar Mohanty

Relationship 74
Life 76
Love 77
Passion 79

Freya Pickard

Christmas Haiku 80
Japanese Haiku 80
Life Within Life 82
Intimate Touch 84

Abigail Wyatt

Audacious Me 85
Life Lessons 87
Hearts Grail 89
The Songstress 91
Spelling 92


Dianne Tchir

Christmas Not Destroyed By Fire 95

Paul Sankey Sadroschinski

Gold And Silver 97
Winterlander 101
River 102

Ruth Mozeika

Evangeline 106
Even If A Magic Memory 108
Soul Inside Of Me 110

Arkayoti Samanta

Life Is Promised By Love 111
A Known One On Silent Mode 114
An Artist,A Different Entity 115
Fire Is Only Consequence 116

Elizabeth Castillo

Loving Till It Hurts 120
Our Love's Journey 120
Out Of These Broken Chords 122
Undying Devotion 123
He Made Me Live 126
Selfless Love 127
Star Dust 129

Udita Garg

Love 131
Winter 133
Haiku On Family 133
Oneness With The Universe 134

Jagjit Singh Jit

Tale Of A Stone 137
Ecstasy Of Illusion 139
Feeling You In Heart 142

Frances Ayers

Love's Blessings(A Double Etheree) 146
Memory Of A Smile 149
The Life Of A Tree(Haiku Chain) 151
Dedication(Tanka) 152
These Tender Moments(Senryu Chain) 152



Forward

This holiday/winter anthology explores all the feelings,sights,sounds,smells and traditions associated with this time of year.Love,nostalgia,questioning,reflection and descriptions of holiday dinners bring this collection alive.Christmas's in faraway lands,and the excitement of the holidays mixed with a backdrop of snow and wind take us away to a time and place of comfort.Heart warming stories such as finding love or overcoming loneliness give us pause.This anthology is also bittersweet as there are also poems that deal with recollection of loved ones lost,and of an earlier time.
The season is alive with activity,colorful feasts and rituals,which are described in detail and are shared by many.Romance is also in full bloom this time of year as you will read in,"Love By Candlelight".
The poor and those without are also remembered in this anthology,as in Brian Wrixon's poems where he talks about"Christmas On The Front".
Childhood moments and recollections of Christmas take us back to an earlier time of innocence,excitement and longing.With that said,enjoy!

Frances Ayers
Editor



Christmas Wonders

by Brian Wrixon
For our three sponsored children in Africa)

Christmas dawns in a faraway land
We wonder what you will eat today
In our land of plenty we can forget
What hunger is like for you

Christmas dawns in a faraway land
We wonder if you will be well today
In our land of health we can forget
What sickness is like for you

Christmas dawns in a faraway land
We wonder what you will learn today
In our land of knowledge we can forget
What school is like for you

Christmas dawns in a faraway land
We wonder what you will face today
In our land of ease we can forget
What life is like for you

©Brian Wrixon,All Rights Reserved


Christmas at the Front

(Based on an actual event)
by Brian Wrixon

The sun rises to a strange stillness
Burning off the smoke and mist and gas
They listen for the rumble of the guns
But all is quiet on the front this morning
Faces stare across no man's land in silence
And faces stare back at them, also silent
In the stillness, voices rise along the trench line
"Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright"
From across the mud, the craters and the wire
"Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, alles schlaft, ein sam wacht"
A white flag is raised, mirrored by another
Everywhere soldiers emerge from their trenches
Weapons aside and hands extended in friendship
Those fighting for King and Country
Meet those of the Kaiser and the Fatherland
Exchanging rations for cigarettes and sharing pictures
Happy to follow a new leader for an hour
A King lying in a manger, loved by all

©Brian Wrixon,All Rights Reserved


Jemmy Farmer

Jemmy's journey in writing has also allowed her to discover her spiritual path in a greater depth.Her love of research and collating data to enhance her writing ,has given her the opportunity to reopen the books of mythology and legend and reconnect with the divine.
Jemmy Farmer is an academic Poet and Writer. She is a moderator and contributor to the poetic community of Tir na nog. Ms Farmer also works as a freelance writer and part-time teacher of poetry and creative writing.She is a minor published poet and has won three international accreditation's for her sonnetry. It has been said she writes pretty good for a poet!
Of love Jemmy states,"My partner Ellie inspires beauty in my writing; she is the why, the reason, the very essence that brings love into the soul that is poetry."

Wish for Children

As shiny parcels shimmer all around,
A mother sits watching her child tonight,
And snowflakes gently fall upon the ground.

She whispered her prayer in the silent sound,
The love of a mother pleading for light
As shiny parcels shimmer all around.

The hope that a donor will soon be found
To save her dear child in perilous plight
And snowflakes gently fall upon the ground.

On this winter night, a young king was crowned
The pains of life cowering in his sight
As shiny parcels shimmer all around

The angels of mercy move softly round
Their gentle care as the children sleep tight
And snowflakes gently fall upon the ground

A winter’s night when love pure and profound
My wish for children in a mortal fight
The shiny parcels shimmer all around
As snowflakes gently fall upon the ground.

©Jemmy Farmer,All Rights Reserved


Imbolc Prayer

Because the sun shines, I feel the warmth of hope
Through cold and biting winds, I see the signs
And know the sleeping Earth returns to life.
I stare past trails left by icicle ropes
On to the horizon where Spring reclines
In waiting for an end to Winter’s strife.
And when I gaze into my crystal ball
I see my silver Lady dancing there
A spark within the Winter’s darkest hour
And in her love once more I’m standing tall
I know there is no reason to despair
As life returns from death within her pow’r.
Oh Lady hear my prayer once more tonight
And grant me peace within your holy light.

©Jemmy Farmer,All Rights Reserved

Yuletide Night

Will you be here with us this Yuletide Night?
And join our song of love in ancient days
We greet the dawn in the circle of light.

Above, the silver moon is shining bright
As we recall the time of Pagan ways
Will you be here with us this Yuletide Night?

In joy and mirth, the sun’s rebirth in sight
A gentle glow that warms the snowy haze
We greet the dawn in the circle of light.

The winter’s frosty wind is at its height
As in the flames of Yule we sit and gaze
Will you be here with us this Yuletide Night?

The Earth is draped in robes of purest white
The log is burning in a fiery blaze
To greet the dawn in the circle of light.

As we rejoice and sing our sacred rite
In nature’s wonder our voices raise
Will you be here with us this Yuletide night
To greet the dawn in the circle of light.

©Jemmy Farmer,All Rights Reserved



Farewell to Winter's Dun

The Earth is dressed in Winter white,
While magic grows below
Dawn breaks to bring the morning light.
A flame of warmth shall gently grow
As we prepare for Spring,
Amid the slowly thawing snow.
Through the white a crocus burst,
As Brigid quenches early thirst.
The first dawn chorus starts to sing,
So nourished by the Sun
A ray of hope for everything
The turn of seasons has begun
As is the ancient lore
We bid farewell to Winter’s dun

©Jemmy Farmer,All Rights Reserved


A Blessed Birth

The time of darkness touched by Winter’s snow
Beneath our feet the frozen Earth awaits
The Sun’s rebirth upon the solstice night,
In ice and snow she’s warmed by mystic fates,
And as before the Winter’s Queen draws near,
A cloak of white across her shoulders bare,
Her body arched in labors living throes,
The moonlight caught in strands of frosted hair.
A promised return of the newborn Sun,
To warm the land for every living thing,
Whilst in merriment the Pagans recall
When the holly bough yields to the Oak King,
Our joyful voices sing like Summer rain
For now the Sun returns to shine again.

©Jemmy Farmer,All Rights Reserved


Raven Lee Baxter

Raven is a lover both of Tarantulas and of writing poetry He loves to write about all different subjects,and tries hard to put much of his life experience into his work.Raven also have a blog with his poetry on. www.ravenleebaxter.blogspot.com
He resides in Sheffield,England


Just Out Of Reach (Senryu Chain)

Years roll by,
Loneliness grows,
Emptiness takes hold.

Soon a chance,
Hitting hard,
Surprising me.

Unsuspecting warmth,
Flows through me,
Makes me dizzy.

Finally stung,
Love has bitten,
And I surrender.

Forever there,
Hiding away,
Just out of reach.

©Raven Baxter,All Rights Reserved

Friends

Friends are always there,
When your feeling blue,
Lifting spirits high,
They always pull through

Words of wisdom spoken,
Troubles float away,
Makes the world feel better,
At least for one more day.

So if your feeling lonely,
Of this you can depend,
Pick a telephone number,
And call a trusted friend.

©Raven Baxter,All Rights Reserved



Autumn Flurry (Haiku Chain)

Wind blows,
Rustles trees,
Leaves fall.

Crisp underfoot,
Musty smell,
Rotting away.

Bare limbs lay,
Trees stagnate,
Winter is due.

Lifeless now,
Until summer,
Then glory.

©Raven Baxter,All Rights Reserved



Christmas Joy (Senryu Chain)

Tinsel flickers,
Baubles jingle,
Lights glow.

Presents are wrapped,
Mulled wine flows,
Laughter echoes.

Excited children,
Try to sleep,
In anticipation.

Santa's here,
Happiness dawns,
Christmas joy.


Copyright Raven Lee Baxter 2012

A Winters Tale (Haiku Chain)

Cold bites,
Body aches within,
Changes are