CONSPIRARE CHRISTMAS

Just here the blackest berries fatten / over the pond of our being.
It is a rich month for putting up weeds. / They jut like the jaws of Hapsburg kings.
Tomorrow they will drop their blood / as the milkweed bursts its cotton
leaving dry thorns and tight seeds.
Meanwhile even knowing / that time comes down to shut the door
—headstrong, righteous, time hard at the bone / with ice and one thing more—
we teem, we overgrow. The shelf / is tropic still. Even knowing
that none of us can catch up with himself
we are making a run / for it. Love, we are making a run.
— Maxine Kumin
We Are the Ones We Are Waiting For
Gather by the fire / Gather at the well
Gather near the temple / Gather where you dwell
Gather before sunrise / Gather at midday
Gather in the twilight / Gather where you lay
We are the ones / We are waiting for
We are the ones / We are waiting for
Gather in the moment / Gather in the sound
Gather in the silence / Gather on the ground
Gather through the seasons / Gather for the light
Gather for the healing / Gather in the night
We are the ones / We are waiting for
We are the ones / We are waiting for
Lie me down / Take a breath
Turn off the light / And breathe
We are the ones / We are waiting for
We are the ones. We are waiting for…
—Sunny McHale
(Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also
lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us… —Hebrews 12)
Imagine
(You may say that I’m a dreamer / But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us / And the world will live as one
Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people / Sharing all the world
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