Bodies are burning their oil lamps brightly

from the windows overlooking the church  

their silhouettes shape-shift on the bedroom walls

as they move from room to room,

neither stand still long enough for you 

to grasp who or what they are,

televisions flicker in accord

as if planned in some way, it’s strangely romantic

as if part of a passion play – and I am the only one h...

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The resounding sins, of

many echo through

their etheric karma

manifesting the

good intentions, of

Personal Truth

 

at the end of the day the air waves:

find their way back home,

when the sun goes down, and

the lights go out at night

 

lightning never strikes the same place twice

however, once in a while you wonder…How? 

 

In the world we live in —

Th...

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The tree is man-made, the gifts are fake,

The carols make my stomach ache.

I hate the crowds, the forced-up cheer,

The noise that fills this time of year.

 

The sales are loud, the hype is worse,

Everyone's lost in some gift-giving curse.

The cookies? -Too sweet! The songs? -A "bore"!

I’d rather be locked behind my door.

 

So skip the cheer, and ditch the mess,

I’d...

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It's almost Christmas,

It's snowing and snowflakes twirl in the winter sky.

My roof has caved in, a heavy sigh

As beams and rafters begin to cry.

It's raining and there's fog in the distance,

The rain is a gentle patter on windowpanes,

And from my window, I see lights twinkling on and off inside the fog,

Each blink a whisper, a light in the heart.

It's a sight to behold ind...

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Putting the flash into flash fiction for this festive poem!

Boxing day

A day of cheer

Till his lucky boxers

Disappear

 

A desperate search 

Both high and low 

He can't back down 

Nowhere to go

The fight draws near

The crowd awaits 

Without his shorts 

It's left to fate 

He's fearing failure 

Doubt creeps in

Without his shorts 

How can he win?

B...

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🌟

I

Smile 

In dreams  

Of Christmas past.

That rosy glow we thought

would last. A sprinkle of wonder

In wide-eyed bliss. Mistletoe hanging 

For a virgin kiss. We believed in magic for

A little while. Such sights & sounds sent to

 beguile. If only we'd kept it in a little box, to

 open 

when

Age

Tick  tock

Tick tocks 

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Believe

 

What

is the

reason for

the season? Why

do we celebrate

the date a child was born?

Perhaps... as a reminder

We have a chance for redemption

If we open our hearts to believe.

[]

 

(Click Read/Comment to get Christmas tree effect)

 

                                               

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When I was young, it made sense

The lights, the candles, the innocence

Misty eyed, fretting with excitement

I feel like now, I knew what it meant

 

Memories like a radiant dream

With all the colours in a warm stream

Images flicker in the fog of now

Like a scared and lost dessert cow

 

Golden sights and sounds

Chopping Brussles to a ground

Presents wrapped with a...

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Every year, around this time

A certain feeling swells of mine

Like a rugby ball stuck in the gut

A Christmas shell explodes and cuts

 

December 1st, plan a list

Of all the things you hate entwined

Gifts, toys, you know the score

Dec 12th, what a bore

 

Surely music can help bring the feeling

But a random playlist leaves me reeling

Old crooners return to haunt

...

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Tears

Trickled

        Down her cheeks

        At the sight of

               The empty stocking,

               The house, unvisited.

                      While, next door, Father Christmas

                      Looked at his watch, zipped up his bag

                     And roared home for breakfast in his Jag.

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The streets of the past have a golden hue

Known to only me and you

Forgoing the shy starlight

A golden youthful yellow delight

 

The nights were littered with gold

A yellow wind left to behold

Sunlight at night

What a golden honey sight

 

People, cars and dogs

Streaming through a yellow fog

Christmas fairs and hot chocolate

A warmth and love now forgot

 

...

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Christpocolypse

 

20th December and the lights are down

Expectance in abundance

As we look around

 

No tinsel or snow

No time to let go

Too tired and small

No feeling at all

 

They say he’ll be here soon enough

Yet time will soon have had enough

But we must be ready and not wither

The time is now, we must deliver

 

Yet who will come I ask?

It isn’...

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This poem is based on a story which appeared over Christmas, and which was taken to be true!

AWOL = absent without leave

 

The Christmas gammon have gone spitting mad,

they think asylum seekers are going AWOL

for Christmas: yes here in the UK it’s that bad,

with nothing around here but strife and trouble,

that’s why those “foreigners” want to go home!

Gee Beebie News are ha...

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T’Chrismus Gammon have gone spittin’ mad,

‘cos t’asylum seekers are gooin’  AWOL

fer Chrismus; aye, here in t’UK it’s reet bad,

there’s nowt reawnd ‘ere but strife on’ trouble,

so t’forinners‘re seekin’ asylum back whoam!

Gee Beebie News‘re ‘avin’ a meltdown,

they’re at it like rabid dogs wi’ a bone,

parliament’s an asylum, on’ t’loons‘re in charge,

con wi not send ‘em t’li...

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Breaking News ...

 

They sent Santa to Rwanda

He didn’t want to go

The reindeer got deported too

That’s the last they’ll see of snow

In attempting to circumvent border control

It was deemed an illegal immigration 

Caught in the lights of the aerial patrol

With no proof of destination 

Now he’s in a detention place

The subject of arrest

They’ve digitised (and 3D ...

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Down On Candy Cane Lane
Several Elves Burst Into Flame
Rudolph Was Sad
But, Santa Was Mad
Knowing Spiked Eggnog Was To Blame.

Santa Put The Drink On A Shelf
Too High Up For Any Elf.
But, The Elves Formed A Plan
And Hired A Man
Who Took And Drank It Himself.

-------
Visit me at Medium.com

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Blowing all over the exposed garden
On Christmas Day
Before yielding to the gusts 
The leaves blow words
Over the frozen ground
Buried in the spotlight,

Pushing our lifetimes
In front of our faces
Tearing us away from our presents 
Like coins in sunken vases
A miracle into a wonderful life
A family drama into a celebration.

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Santa's not coming this year

He's sick of all the ‘tech’

Nobody wants the good ol’ stuff

It's all gone a bit Star Trek!

 

Xbox, PlayStation, IPhone,

Fit bit, airpods, Meta!

Will it ever end?

It definitely won't get any better!

 

It may be a feast for the eyes 

But, don't eat those mince pies!

It's a feast for your slumbering belly!

In front of your gamin...

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How has the shrine of wisdom and manger

Become a nightmare of fear and danger?

Lives tossed aside, like unwanted presents,

Of factory workers and toiling peasants?

How has Christmas, day of celebration,

Been transformed into a desecration,

Where the rocket, mortar, the flag and fist

Are the only currencies which subsist,

And the welcome afforded to a guest

Is replaced b...

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The invitation came from an anonymous source

With a hint of menace in a note of force

A resolution has been passed

By our High Command

For festive entertainment we want your band

This is not optional, there’s no way out 

We’re ready and waiting so don’t hang about

Be at the Village Hall on the Thirteenth of December

And prepare to deliver an event to remember

There’ll be...

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It is everybody's Christmas -
It's a time to celebrate.
It is everybody's Christmas -
We've waited so long for this date.

It is everybody's Christmas -
We are planning and preparing.
It is everybody's Christmas -
We are giving and we're sharing.

It is everybody's Christmas -
A time for kindness and good will.
It is everybody's Christmas -
And our stomachs we shall fill.

It is eve...

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 MY QUERY:

Hello Ghazala,
I was wondering if you could tell me the meaning of some words you use?
"sakeenah"
"azzawajall"
Also:
Do you recognise Jesus as a prophet?
Do you celebrate his birthday at Christmas?

------------------------------------------------------------

ANSWER:

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Over the stillness
a silence greets our walk
alongside the snow
to your family,

the wind curiously absent
and no children
eager to build snowmen
or men walking their dogs,

a stillness greeting footsteps
that one sound
carrying us forward
binding us together in excitement,

that one continuous emotion
a love spreading us onward
across the snow
forwards never backwards

forward...

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5 days until Christmas Haiku

 

Emptying the food shelves

five days until Christmas falls

panic rises high.

 

 

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As snow came down

her wondrous eyes

flared as bright

as winter skies

 

She imagined they fell

from Santa's sleigh 

And that he might

pop down & say:

 

What a good girl

you've been this year 

You may get more

than an apple & pear!

 

And through a window

frosted lightly,

she saw a snowman

fat, but sprightly!

 

He danced & raised

his batt...

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Nearly bloody well threw up,

Today in bloody M&S,

Sick of bloody bull-shit,

Bloody “Winter Wishes” dishes!

Jesus Christ, enough already,

This is bloody Britain mate!

We’re celebrating bloody Christmas,

Not “Winter bloody Festival”,

Not “Winter bloody Holiday”,

This ain’t the bloody USA,

It’s bloody-well the UK,

Shove your bloody “Winter” bollocks,

Where the bloo...

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Resurrecting ghosts
the snow blows under the bridge
beneath the train staiton
blowing a invisible bell
weighted in emotion

tunnelling over a day
foretold in images over frozen lakes
shawled over empty hills
and ringing bells pausing
in a silent moment of reflection

filing our footprints in silence
our hands into snowmen
wishing we had put our boots on
and our toches in our pockets
...

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Mam,

What was it you said

As a I lay in my bed

One snowy Christmas Eve?

 

That if I believe

In what I receive

Comes from a magical place

 

Then, the world can be yours

There'll be open doors

Into realms 

beyond our time & space 

 

***

Merry Christmas & a better New Year to all on planet WOL! ❤️

 

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A Christmas Wish 

 

I wish I could go back for just a day

I wish there was a magic way

To twenty years or so ago. 

To christmas past as white as snow.

To little kids in soft pyjamas, 

Christmas specials of telly dramas. 

Excitement sizzles in the air, 

Gifts from loved ones soon to share.

Special baubles cover the tree, 

Children waiting full of glee. 

Santa’s m...

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In the bed, she lay

So tired & so frail

Like the room itself

So colourless & pale

 

At least, through the window

She could see the snowflakes dance

Falling in a serenade

To a winter's night romance

 

Her bed sores burned like hell

In this purgatory of self

A forgotten thing called living

Lay dormant on its shelf

 

But the snow fell so dreamlike

...

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( click on the live motion link below to get that lovely crackling fire sound ?)

 

On cold winter nights like these

When flaming hues of orange and red 

flicker and sway upon the walls 

of a darkened room

 

The past can find its way back

 

Seeping out of cracks, long-since filled

Through floorboards, long-since replaced

Soft and hushed, 

ingrained in the periphe...

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The Christmas lights were dim

But, not as dim as Tim

Who opened all the doors

To let more light in! ?

 

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A brand new anthology of Christmas poems has been launched as a Facebook project.

‘A Mersey Christmas’  features work by local poets who frequent the spoken word poetry circuits around Birkenhead and Liverpool, and is available to read free.

Curated by Wirral poets Barry Woods and Michelle Wright the collection is their fourth creative writing project and a Christmas gift to the people of th...

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Tommy the turkey was tired totally tired, it's true as his tribe  - being tremendously tasty - tended to top the menu   Tom started out pretty tranquil He was quite the traditional type But rightfully got in a temper at some of that thanksgiving hype   He seemed to ge...

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One whole year's

time emptied

Like lace leaves

 

From the cold trees

Skeletal wisps

You are missing 

attic tinsel 

 

Boxed deep and dusting

With bristles flaking

From the broken spine

So no silver lines 

Our crisp, black-branched pine.

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Christmas fairy lights still dangle,
Plastic string of neon candles,
Hallowing the wreckage of the year.

Streaming ‘River’ on repeat
River Warbling marrow-deep

Wash away those spiteful, December bones.

From jigsaws sat on nickel knees
To whisky-nursing you in sprees,
Femurs first you left us piece by piece.

Frailty distils the waters
Trickles down through all your daughters

...

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Just think of how the advert might have gone
Retired but not yet tired?
Got a few evenings spare?
Must enjoy outdoor activities
Uniform supplied.

Conscientious sleigh driver not afraid of heights
Must be kind to children
Good with animals,
Sense of humour required.

Perks of Job: Secluded accomodation,
World wide travel at the drop of a hat,
Guaranteed to keep you young at heart
And...

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My wish this Christmas 

is faith replaces fear.

 

Loneliness gives way 

to cheer. 

 

Gratitude 

trumps despair. 

 

Children play

in open air.

 

Loss is not in vain.

 

Love spreads faster 

than a pandemic train.

 

Wishes multiple. 

 

Glimpses of paradise 

in every day life, 

remind us why 

we are alive. 

 

# # #

What’s your ...

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You say the snow is a magical thing
Coming down from the heavens like magic
Before joining up together on the ground
And Father Christmas throws it all down
Just to complete the experience

Drifting your happiness across town
Whether by car or bus
In-between two places on Christmas Day
When another downpour
Leaves the pair of us laughing

Telling each other ironically
It could only ha...

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so, a time for warm memories?

fond loved ones from the past?

Christmas 2019 one to forget

I thought it might prove my last

 

parrot strangled in trimmings

wife, shopping after a row, got

took short, skidded off the path

tree trimmed by a snow plough

 

house got burgled Christmas Eve

at which your festive spirit palls

he nicked the replacement spruce

complete ...

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It isn't snowing but the world is put on ice
Shivering and sliding and slipping by in life
Better get our skates on,
Better wrap up nice and warm,
Got to learn ourselves a new way to survive.

Thinking of the problems that are past and yet to come
Got that crushing tingling feeling, feeling numb
Better switch our brains on
Better struggle through this storm
Got to keep on going strong an...

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the tattered old man on Christmas Eve

 

snow was falling hard

as the old man struggled

through the deep drifts

on the country road

 

light shone from a

a farmhouse window

the old man smiled seeing the glow

 

it was a candle

the widowed mother had placed there

nightly since last Christmas Eve

 

a year ago

a man was found

frozen along this same road

...

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It takes me back to a boy;

the falling of snow

To a fluffy, white street

under a streetlight's dull glow:

 

Where an old man trudges through

Each foot now a plough

Eyes squinting to see

The here and the now

 

I watch from a window

My youthful eyes wide

Thinking: move to the road

Then you can slide!

 

But he carries on trudging

As I shake my youn...

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before doing a runner

she cut down my tree

pine needles all over

festive debris to see

 

fairy dead on the rug

each bauble smashed

lights cables tangled

my Christmas dashed

 

should have twigged it,

axe-heads lit her eyes

our rapport splintering

ate my last mince pies

 

a forest of complaints

calling me dead wood

unhappy with my log

called my p...

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Selling Christmas Trees and Roman Candles, 1950

 

My older married brother, Willy, asked Kenny and me if we would like to help him sell Christmas trees. We said, “Sure we would love to help.”

Willy had gone into the woods and cut a number of cedar trees. We were going to sell them out of the back of his old Plymouth station wagon and an old trailer. The NAPA auto store...

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This year has been different and certainly strange,
So for this Covid Christmas we must all make a change.
With our loved ones we may not be able to share,
But remember them still and know that they do care.

Although Covid-19 makes us all be apart,
Try to be strong and remain stout of heart.
Though at this festive time numbers may be reduced,
Know a wonderful Christmas may still be produc...

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Granda's slouched 

In his fave comfy chair

A Christmas cracker party hat

Hides his four strands of hair

 

His wife always said:

'Get the buggers cut!'

But he wasn't quite ready

To be a total baldy nut! 

 

He wishes she was here now

Nagging at full pelt:

'If ye eat or drink one more thing,

yer gonna burst your belt!'

 

And Sophie's eyes sparkle

L...

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its a far cry from Bucharest

in this dark and earthy shed,

thinks of her tearful mother

the man she's shortly to wed

 

draughts slice wooden walls,

rats scuttering in the hay-loft,

rubbing her hands for warmth

tells herself not to be so soft

 

slim candles shadow the gloom,

bloke appears in muddy boots,

shoving his wheelbarrow in a

mini-forest of sprouting ro...

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The nasty little snowman

Wasn't made of all things nice

They'd patted him together

With, mostly, dirty ice

 

He had rusty bolts for eyes

And a beer bottle nose

A frozen dog turd mouth

And a piece of garden hose

 

shoved up his frozen arse.

The kids found this so funny

But, when he opened his dogshit mouth

They all ran home to mummy!

 

Such expletives he...

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Thank you to talented local musician Stuart Bell for turning it into a lovely Christmas ditty! 

 

(a re-post, but it seems more appropriate now! ⛄)

 

Like comets we slid through the crisp, white grass

In our wake billowed a powder-puff mass

It floated and swirled and twinkled with light

Like low-hanging stars broke free of the night

 

And in snow-laden fields angels were...

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