Christmas Mourning - for my 9,000th post

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Kit McCallum

Administrator

Member Laureate

since 2000-04-30

Posts 14774
Ontario, Canada

0 posted 2001-12-23 08:48 AM

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Holiday, and apologize for not responding nearly enough the last week. I've got my annual Christmas Treasure Hunt for the nephews that I'm trying to prepare for, topped off with a little pneumonia and a broken finger, lol. Merry Christmas everyone!

~*~

Christmas Mourning

I rose before the sun, with trepidation in my heart,
A blend of joy and sorrow gave my day a pensive start;
I urged my weary body to rise up to face the day,
For Christmas comes but once a year - regardless, come what may.

I wandered to the kitchen to prepare the coming feast,
A quiet time to call my own, in search of inner peace;
The household slumbered quietly … the scene was quite surreal,
As mem'ries drifted through this grieving mind I tried to heal.

Robotically, I stuffed the bird and readied for the day,
My hands were busy, yet I found my mind would run astray;
I reminisced on times of old, when you were by my side,
The happiness, the joy, the pain … the feelings long denied.

I heard the family stirring, placed the turkey in the pan,
As footsteps started down the hall, toward the tree they ran;
I placed a smile upon my face, and said a prayer within,
To summon up my strength, and find some courage yet again.

Expected faces greeted me, anticipation rose,
The gifts were handed out, dressed up in ribbons and some bows;
I watched their eager faces, as they opened them with glee,
Discovering the treasures, that were found beneath the tree.

The scene unfolded as it should, but left me wanting more,
I snuck a glance toward your empty chair across the floor;
Discarded papers lingered there, where you were meant to be,
An awkward shrine in absence of your presence here with me.

The day moved on, my mind would wander back and forth it seemed,
It jumped from past to present, then to future hopes and dreams;
I watched the day surround me, played my part as best I could,
I lost myself in festive cheer, as I had hoped I would.

I set the table, served the food and said a prayer of grace,
I watched the family savor every morsel - every taste;
And yet I glanced across the way, toward your empty chair,
A void that left me weak with need, still wishing you were here.

Dessert began, and animated conversation rose,
To snap me back to present thoughts, away from hidden woes;
I joined in the festivities, and when the meal was done,
Went back into the kitchen, where my day had first begun.

I dipped my hands into the suds, and leisurely, I cleaned,
Allowed my mind to drift again, alone, and softly dreamed;
The magic of the holiday took hold as mem'ries surged,
And suddenly, I felt you there, as past and present merged.

The barrier that held you just beyond my mortal grasp,
Was lifted for a moment as I felt you close at last;
The birth of Christ upon this day, so many years ago,
Reminded me that never do our loved ones truly go.

I knew that you could hear my thoughts, I knew that you were near,
I felt your strength surrounding me, and brushed away a tear;
I felt a hug within my heart, I felt your warmth and love,
A reassuring presence that had come from up above.

I wrapped myself in comfort for the gift I'd been bestowed,
And thanked the Lord for blessing me, as mem'ries overflowed;
This day had been my portal to the future and the past …
As Christmas mourning ended ... with my faith renewed at last.

/Kit McCallum

Nan

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-20

Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA

1 posted 2001-12-23 09:03 AM

A mind that's not only at peace but also open at that door... allows the most wondrous of 'remembrances' to enter...

This is wonderful, Kit - Have a wonderful holiday - don't overdo - Be well...

Sunshine

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Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

2 posted 2001-12-23 09:03 AM

Thank you for the Christmas memories,
and the
presence
that all of us need...

Merry Christmas, Kit!

Poet deVine

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-26

Posts 22612
Hurricane Alley

3 posted 2001-12-23 09:14 AM

Congratulations on reaching post number 9000. You are such a part of our family that your 'presence' would be missed. I hope you and your family have the best holiday ever. And that the next year brings all those things to you and yours that you need to make you happy. Thank you for being YOU.

Marsha

Member Rara Avis

since 2000-07-10

Posts 7423
Maidstone Kent England

4 posted 2001-12-23 09:19 AM

Kit darling girl, this was soooooooooo filled with utter love. This is without doubt one of your utter best, I could see the whole scene, truly Kit you shine in this one.

We all need our memories, and you have shown that they can live on within as long as you want them to.

This is utterly utterly wonderful

Truly outstanding writing and I love it
Love and warm stuff
As always
Mushy

To give light to them that sit in darkness..... to guide our feet into the way of peace St John ch2 v1

rosepetals25

Member Elite

since 2000-05-31

Posts 3076
PA

5 posted 2001-12-23 09:48 AM

Kit,

Congrats on reaching 9000

And what a wonderful poem you used to celebrate. I really like this one... loved ones always surround you and offer strength.... it's nice to be reminded of that.

Happy holidays to you

Hugs,
Tara

"My heart is like an open book, for the whole world to read"
- Motley Crue, Home Sweet Home

OLIAS
Senior Member

since 2000-06-20

Posts 1090
Pearl city Iowa

6 posted 2001-12-23 10:03 AM

Congratulations on the big 9000, I was very touched by your wonderful words, brought back memories of Family that will be missing from my Christmas celebrations. All the best to you, may all you wish for come true.

Regards,
Olias.

SmartChick
Member Rara Avis

since 2001-09-23

Posts 7081
On A Journey To The Unknown

7 posted 2001-12-23 10:07 AM

Congradulations on your 9000th post. This is beautiful with wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing it. Have a very merry christmas.

Balladeer

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Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

8 posted 2001-12-23 10:32 AM

What a heart-touching and pensive piece, written of course in the impeccable style that personifies all of your wonderful work. Congratulations to you, Kit, and to us for having you

Janet Marie
Member Laureate

since 2000-01-22

Posts 18554

9 posted 2001-12-23 10:56 AM

I knew that you could hear my thoughts, I knew that you were near,
I felt your strength surrounding me, and brushed away a tear;
I felt a hug within my heart, I felt your warmth and love,
A reassuring presence that had come from up above.

I wrapped myself in comfort for the gift I'd been bestowed,
And thanked the Lord for blessing me, as mem'ries overflowed;
This day had been my portal to the future and the past …
As Christmas mourning ended ... with my faith renewed at last.
=====================================

Rhyme Divine takes you too milestone number 9

A perfect poem to mark that milestone with as well...
Merry Christmas to you Kit-girlie.
Have a wonderful holiday and take care of you!!! We need you around here...with all your fingers and toes in tact *L*
love ya lady

You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost in everything I do.
Thats the way love is ... sky blue and black.

ecrivan
Member Elite

since 2001-12-10

Posts 3923
my own state

10 posted 2001-12-23 11:21 AM

Congradualtions Kit on your 9000, keeping the mind fresh with ideas to write is some challenge, I know..have been writing poems now 25 years myself.
Keep your memories going, your family loves you for that and the children will learn from your experiences.

Victoria

Member Ascendant

since 2000-08-12

Posts 5869

11 posted 2001-12-23 11:23 AM

Congratulations Kit..and a Merry Christmas to you too...nicely done

~Victoria~

Startime
Member Ascendant

since 2000-10-03

Posts 5918
Canada

12 posted 2001-12-23 11:26 AM

BRAVO!!!!What a wonderful poem and for Christmas and your 9,000th post.

I love it!!I love it!!Congradulations. **hugs**

Love I leave with you whether it is in your life now or yet the essense of your dreams.

Enchantress
Member Empyrean

since 2001-08-14

Posts 35113
Canada eh.

13 posted 2001-12-23 11:30 AM

Kit, this piece rendered me speechless, and left me with a lump in my throat, as my mind wandered to Christmases past and Christmas present... remembering those who won't be here.
A very touching and beautiful remember.
Congratulations on your 9000th post!
Have a blessed yule my friend.
~Hugs...and get well soon! Nancy~

*~ Wishing you all a magical Christmas ~*

Mistletoe Angel

Member Empyrean

since 2000-12-17

Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

14 posted 2001-12-23 12:38 PM

(tears fall down my cheeks) Oh my gosh, your beautiful words brought tears of joy to my eyes, this is the perfect declaration of faith and love the Lord gives us every Christmas morning! (sigh) BRAVO!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON A BEAUTIFUL 9000!!! Your words are always a delight to read and your beautiful comments always touch all our hearts! (kiss on cheek) We all love you so much, sweet Kit!!! (big hugggssssss) You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Kit, thank you for sharing!

May love and light always shine upon you!

Love,
Noah Eaton

SEA

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 2000-01-18

Posts 22676
with you

15 posted 2001-12-23 12:48 PM

well, I made it fine till you got to washing the dishes....then I started crying...dang it Kit! a warning next time if you please! Now i have to go find the tissue box!

Congratulations on 9000!!

Sven

Member Laureate

since 1999-11-23

Posts 14937
East Lansing, MI USA

16 posted 2001-12-23 05:57 PM

always near. . . but yet, still too far. . .

great job Kit. . . makes us all remember. . . congrats my friend. . .

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

To the world, you may only be one person. But to one person, you may be the world.

Madame Chipmunk
Member Rara Avis

since 2001-12-05

Posts 8296
Michigan

17 posted 2001-12-23 08:01 PM

This is so beautifully written, Kit, but it is so sad that it made me cry.

Please know, Kit...that your loved ones are always with you, even after they pass on.
Your poem reminded me of our family's Thanksgiving, 2 years ago. My first husband had passed away six months earlier......and it felt really empty, and yet...we could all feel his presence....each of us in our own way.
Last year was another bad one, my older son died suddenly and tragically in July, so our family has had a couple of bad years for holidays...and your poem felt just like home to me.
Please try to have a pleasant Christmas anyway...although it will be hard.

copyright2001 Lyra Nesius

"poetry is life distilled" Gwendolyn Brooks

Martie

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Member Empyrean

since 1999-09-21

Posts 28049
California

18 posted 2001-12-23 08:43 PM

Kit...What a heart treasure of a poem...just loved it, and the way you expressed your love...the ending made me cry. Blessings to you, my friend..this Christmas and always...oh, and congratulations on 9 big ones!!!!!

Irish Rose
Member Patricius

since 2000-04-06

Posts 10263

19 posted 2001-12-23 08:47 PM

Merry Christmas and congrats to one fine lady poet!

Kathleen (Kay)
"When red-haired girls scamper like roses over the rain-green grass, and the sun drips honey."
Laurie Lee

Mysteria

Member Laureate

since 2001-03-07

Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada

20 posted 2001-12-24 01:53 AM

Kit this story is true for so many at this time of year, and the mechanics of the season go on, but your memory is stuck in neutral, and you write it well. You take you hear! Small details, pneumonia, broken finger, treasure hunt, dinner (probably for 30), LOL, take care and a very happy holiday Auntie Kit, have fun!

~*~ The Very Best Of The Season To You And Yours ~*~

shoffswife
Junior Member

since 2001-12-23

Posts 38
KY, US

21 posted 2001-12-24 03:13 AM

I'm trying to see clearly enough to write through my tears. Hearbreaking, yet beautful.
Congrats on 9,000 posts.

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean

since 1999-11-16

Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA

22 posted 2001-12-24 05:34 AM

Lovely expression of thoughts and emotions...hope you have a wonderful Christmas...James

Kethry
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-07-29

Posts 9082
Victoria Australia

23 posted 2001-12-24 05:50 AM

Kit,
Sitting in stunned silence here!
Fabulous, perfection, amazing!
Keth.

Here in the midst of my lonely abyss, a single joy I find...your presence in my mind. Unknown

Kit McCallum

Administrator

Member Laureate

since 2000-04-30

Posts 14774
Ontario, Canada

24 posted 2001-12-24 06:17 AM

Please forgive me for not responding individually to everyone today, but I keep taking the splint off my finger to type, and that would be a lot of typing, LOL. Thank you so much for your well wishes, your hugs and your beautiful comments. They all mean the world to me, as each of you do.

I wanted to let you know that I'm giving the gift of Passions this Christmas too! Did you know that many of you are going to be wrapped up and lovingly passed along to my family and friends? I purposely ordered a certain number of Voices on the Web so that I could gift them to my friends and family at Christmas ... and I was wrapping you all up yesterday in preparation! Thank "you" all for giving "me" your gifts in words, that I in turn, can keep on giving!

Much appreciation and Happy Holidays to you all,
/Kit

VAS
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-11-16

Posts 7450
Oregon

25 posted 2001-12-24 06:38 PM

Extremely lovely, Kit, woven with tenderness and love and a clinging to the beauty that your life has been brought.

I wrote one last month titled: For All the Empty Chairs...therefore that phrase in your poem was extra powerful for me...well, maybe it was, anyway.

Whether on the shoal or on the shore,
I'll seek the lighthouse evermore.

Larry C

Member Patricius

since 2001-09-10

Posts 10286
United States

26 posted 2001-12-24 06:44 PM

Kit,
Funny how bittersweet memories can become blessings. Merry Christmas and thank you for the wonderful poem! How do you get those Passions books?

Kit McCallum

Administrator

Member Laureate

since 2000-04-30

Posts 14774
Ontario, Canada

27 posted 2001-12-24 08:31 PM

Thank you Virginia and Larry.

Virginia, I read that piece, and was amazed that our thoughts were so intertwined ... it was a lovely piece. And Larry .... just send a note to Ron. If there are additional books available, he'll be happy to help you out, I'm sure!.

Much appreciation to you both,
/Kit

mirror man
Senior Member

since 2001-01-08

Posts 814

28 posted 2001-12-24 08:45 PM

Congratulations on 9000, and hoping your Christmas future help you with the ghost of Christmas past. Merry Christmas.

Hypnosis
Member

since 2001-12-02

Posts 325
CO

29 posted 2001-12-24 09:28 PM

Beautifully written Kit. I often are overcome by immense memories which cause me to stop and think everyday, some good and some bad, but we tend to move past things, we will heal one way or the other. And congratulations on your 9,000th post! I am proud!

Randy Meador

a life lived unexplored is a life not worth living.

Duncan
Member Ascendant

since 2001-08-07

Posts 5455

30 posted 2001-12-24 10:22 PM

I watched the day surround me, played my part as best I could,
I lost myself in festive cheer, as I had hoped I would.

Perfect. These lines just stood out a bit to me. Every word of this flowed.

Jamie
Member Elite

since 2000-06-26

Posts 3168
Blue Heaven

31 posted 2001-12-24 11:50 PM

A wonderful poem for your 9,000th. Congratulations and hope you heal fast..
take care,

There is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar.
byron

Nate Dogg
Senior Member

since 1999-11-15

Posts 1658
Georgia, Fulton

32 posted 2001-12-25 01:06 AM

This is a brilliant write Kit and your imagery was very nice....Merry Christmas sweetheart!!!

Nathan

Krawdad
Member Elite

since 2001-01-03

Posts 2597

33 posted 2001-12-25 01:24 AM

Marvelous, Kit! A testement to the value of these holidays. Well done!

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

34 posted 2001-12-25 04:44 AM

Her it is, Christmas morning and I open the forum to find that you have written my life.
Through my tears, I can tell you that you have painted the sentiments and the realities, disbursed with humor and love, thoughts of the past, hope for the future, and those fleeting moments that you know someone is with you. If I could stop crying, I could go on, but let me just say this is so beautifully written, and a perfect post for *9000.
Congratulations
Liz

Charisma

Member Ascendant

since 2000-09-30

Posts 5906
lost in blue pages

35 posted 2001-12-25 07:48 AM

congrats on 9000

Merry Christmas to you and yours Kit.

((hugs))
Charisma

~*Theresia~*

anonymousfemale
Member Elite

since 2000-02-02

Posts 2797
Limbo

36 posted 2001-12-25 11:22 AM

Kit, your words of beauty do much more than touch the inner soul, they warm. You write with such grace! I love this piece for what it represents.

Congratulations on the 9000th. You should be extremely proud of this wonder. Have a very Merry Christmas.

~AF~

If this is all the world has to offer, I want a refund on my life.

Midnitesun

Member Empyrean

since 2001-05-18

Posts 28647
Gaia

37 posted 2001-12-25 07:06 PM

Thank you for sharing your heart and your memories with us. This poem made me think back on a family holiday of many years ago. Thank you, and may you stay safe, warm and well.

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean

since 2000-02-02

Posts 27738

38 posted 2001-12-25 07:12 PM

Thank you, for this one Kit!

vlraynes
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-07-25

Posts 8229
Somewhere... out there...

39 posted 2001-12-26 03:44 PM

Kit-
This is absolutely beautiful and such
a touching write.
Happy Holidays to you and yours, my friend.
May your days be filled with all the things
that make you smile.
Hugs,
~Vicky

"...until you have read the verse on his heart,
you have not truly met the poet.
~vlraynes

Kit McCallum

Administrator

Member Laureate

since 2000-04-30

Posts 14774
Ontario, Canada

40 posted 2001-12-27 06:59 AM

Thank you everyone for the beautiful Christmas wishes ... and dear Liz, big hugs to you sweet sister of rhyme.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. I'm back to the office already this morning ... sigh. It comes so quickly, then leaves just as fast, doesn't it?

Much appreciation to you all,
/Kit

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