Star of Wonder/Tumbledown #poetry #earthweal

Star of Wonder:
light in the children’s eyes
around the tree
abound our hopes and memories. 

I dream of childhood
without dread or fear
long-gone December days
haunting my always.

Away in a Manger
we hear that once a baby slept
embraced in love
into our lives He crept.

We were not ready
for His message, then
no more than now:
Oh Come, Emanuel 
and save us, anyhow.

The earth is burning
the windtorn trees are down
Earth spirits, turning 
look on our wanton work of death, and mourn.

So, come, Lord Jesus
and show us how to face our fate, ordained
even as we’re washed out on the tide
to love without restraint.

© 202experimentsinfiction.com. All Rights Reserved.

A song of Advent for earthweal

This week, Brendan has asked us to ‘write poems of Advent,’ noting that:

‘The word advent comes from the Latin adventus or “arrival,” from ad “to” and venire “to come.” The Christmas hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” expresses the sentiment with aching ancient longing.’

This poem represents the darker side of my visit to Wordsworth’s Grasmere. So many old-growth trees downed in recent storms, including a cedar planted by the Poet himself more than 150 years ago. In nearby Ambleside, only two weeks ago, storm Arwen claimed the life of a man who was hit by a falling tree.

As for the poem’s message, it seems that in the face of global inaction, all we can do is continue to love, to pray, and of course, to sing our earthsongs:

fallen tree
An old-growth tree downed over the River Rothay
felled tree
More trees felled by recent storms along the Old Coffin Route to Rydal
Downed cedar tree
Wordsworth’s Cedar uprooted

64 thoughts on “Star of Wonder/Tumbledown #poetry #earthweal

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    1. Thank you David! I sent this one to Spillwords a while back but I think minus the Apocalyptic element it was lacking, so this is a rewrite, hence the slashed title 😅

  1. Love the writing! 👍All we can do Ingrid is hope that the growing conscience of the world explodes into action before it is too late!

  2. A thoughtful and poignant poem, Ingrid.

    There was so many trees destroyed in the tornado that hit my area in September. There are going to be more storms, I’m sure.

  3. I loved your combining longing for Christ’s return with longing for the earth’s healing. Sad to see those old trees toppled.
    Pax,
    Dora

  4. I loved this Ingrid and could hear your beautiful voice as I read it.
    Oh my that tree.. what history .. i guess they just leave it since to honor him. wow.. very cool.
    Have a good Monday my friend! 💖

  5. Such a lifting poem. Indeed, in such tumultuous times, we look up to the Lord for His help, even as we approach his birthday. Amen, even so now come Lord. 💖💖💖💐

  6. You respond directly to the earthweal challenge, linking the old expectation with the new dread. If the kingdom of Heaven is within, it’s up to us then to save the world.

  7. Very sad to read of the downed trees due to storms, especially the one planted by Wordsworth so many years ago, and the life lost. As we were reminded with the recent deadly tornadoes in America, mother nature can have a violent and unstoppable wrath. Beautiful poem, Ingrid.

  8. the torrential rains here the last few days along the California coast will surely have brought down these trees sistren and brethren. they say the openings let in light, for the next generation. we can only hope, yes?

      1. How frightening. I’m glad they are safe. We had a lot of trees come down around here a few weeks ago. The clean up is on going. Lucky for me the worst that happened at my place was my back fence blowing down.

  9. Ingrid — May the joy of the season fill your heart here at the closing if the year 2021, and may peace abide in 2022. This is a most difficult time for our planet earth, and a time of turmoil for its peoples. May 2022 begin the way back! ✌🏼❤️🌎

  10. Both versions of this poem are lovely, Ingrid. <3 Congratulations on the publication at SpillWords! The original version evokes both negative and positive emotions at a very human level and is thought-provoking. The second version, at SpillWords, seems to me to be a heartfelt, but more conventional holiday message. Since I am nonreligious, the original version appeals more to me.

  11. This ties in well with the prompt, especially with this line…

    “Earth spirits, turning
    look on our wanton work of death, and mourn”

    …although the line also could apply to the sad state of human affairs in these times.

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