Christmas Verse and a Christmas Poem

Abstract

Christmas Verse and a Christmas Poem Myra Cohn Livingston In The Name and Nature of Poetry A.E. Housman speaks of the folly inherent in supposing that one person, more than another, is capable of recognizing what poetry is—or is not! Many people, self-admittedly, feel uneasy when it comes to distinguishing the difference between commonplace verse and poetry. Basic to this ability, I believe, is some knowledge of the craft of writing poetry, but beyond this it seems possible for everyone to appreciate that both form and content must mesh, in a special way, if poetry is to be achieved, and to understand that the voice of the poet is different from that of the versifier. Here are three "poems" about Christmas, a day which we would all acknowledge—with its associations of religious observance, emotional impact, spirit of giving and dream of peace and goodwill—to be unique. Those who work with children may wish to share a poem that would stretch their understanding beyond toys and commercial aspects of the day. To do this, we might well seize on the metaphorical formula: Chirstmas is—(an exercise overworked by creative writing gimmicks, but if well-done, successful in poetry.) "What is Christmas?" "Christmas is so many thingsIt's hard to count them all:Shining star above a mangerWhere three wise men come to call,Happy voices caroling,Visiting with friends,Shopping in the bustling stores,And the greeting cards one sends. Christmas means vacation time,Gay packages and bows,Turkey on the tableWhere a candle softly glows,Jolly, rounded snowmen,A laughing snowball fight,Listening for Old Santa ClausAnd his reindeer in the night. Christmas is a glistening treeWith ornaments and lights.It's standing in a toyshopQuite breathless at the sights.It's a time of love,A time of giving too,When there is peace and happinessAnd our best dreams come true!"1 To the author of this verse Christmas is filled with so many happy things that "It's hard to count them all." But count she does, finding joy at every turn, and if the images tend toward sentimentality—a candle glowing on the same table with the turkey; "A laughing snowball fight,"; ". . peace and happiness/ And our best dreams come true!"—we do know that nothing can daunt her spirit! Never mind the broken metaphor at the beginning of the second stanza, the inconsistency of metrical structure, the wise men who "come"—her rhyming, at least, is accurate. To the second author "Christmas Symbols" reside more in the realm of the religious, but are consistently metaphorical: "Christmas is a candle,Christmas is a star,Christmas is the Wise MenTraveling from afar. Christmas is a story,Christmas is a tree,Christmas is a carolSung by you and me."2 This piece is more rhythmically satisfying than "What is Christmas?" with its fairly regular trochaic beat. Its rhymes are accurate albeit predictable. It gives us six symbols which we instantly recognize. We might indulge in a little nit-picking and question the broad use of "story" as an image, but the verse is certainly succinct and non-threatening. The third poem is "The Children's Carol." "Here we come again, again, and here we come again!Christmas is a single pearl swinging on a chain,Christmas is a single flower in a barren wood,Christmas is a single sail on the salty flood,Christmas is a single star in the empty sky,Christmas is a single song sung for charity,Here we come again, again, to sing to you again,Give a single penny that we may not sing in vain." Even the singing rhythm of this poem separates it at once from the other two verses. The poet's judicious use of meter, of repetition and alliteration add to the effect, as well as does slant rhyme in wood/flood, sky/charity. What is especially important is its element of surprise with imagery. The first [End Page 33] two verses told us of symbols we recognize—the tree, the star, Wise Men, et al. But in this poem the images are fresh and startling...