"An Early Chrismas Call"
Harper's Weekly, Dec. 28, 1867. Click on image for a larger view.
Previous William Thomas Sherman Info Page postings, quotes, observations, etc.
["Olivia Newton-John - Carols By Candlelight Hark The Herald A" -- Dec. 24, 2000]
["Carpenters - Sleigh Ride" -- from their tv Christmas special]
Here, as promised, is the (at present at least) final version of my poem "The Good That Is Always" in .pdf.
Or for the same, via Scribd, see: http://www.scribd.com/doc/45827976/The-Good-That-is-Always-A-Poem
["Marshmellow World" -- Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra duet from Martin's TV show]
["Earl Grant -- "Silver Bells" (1965)"]
The Good That Is Always [resumed from earlier]
For many then
Troubles are rarely very far.
And even if we ourselves
Don’t in woe and worry languish,
How cold and dead we are
To be deaf and blind
To others’ tears and anguish.
Although some do regret
Winter’s rains and chill,
It is an apt time of year
To value quiet and be still.
And sometimes
The calm snow brings
Is just what’s needed
To get a proper sense of things.
For as farmers must
Every few years
Leave fallow tired fields
So that once again
They might fecundity yield;
So the respite
That Winters sends
Gives time to heal, forgive,
And make amends.
What richer tranquility
After all is there
Than a newly snow bound
December morn
In which to walk
And take the air?
Our very breath we can see,
And how lovely are the trees
Adorned with snowy drift
Of purest white;
Lit up by frost,
Moon, and starlight.
Yet for many animals,
As well as many people,
This time of brumal “rest”
Is often one when
When life is most
Hard pressed;
To sleep in cold burrows,
Or lie in damp retreats;
Or perhaps
For food to seek
When there’s ever
So little to eat.
How must they weather
Arctic sent blasts
That on occasion
Through Winter pass?
Notwithstanding
Such harsh reasons,
Some animals lose
None of their pluck
In this inclement season.
How amusing
One winter’s day
Was the sight
Of two brave sparrows
Formation flying
Within a pigeons’ flight!
Even our own furry friends
Some cold weather
Daring show;
As when Fido bounds
In deep downy drifts,
Or when come morn
We find Tabby’s paw marks
Trailing in the snow.
Such is but a brief sketch
Of (some of) the mass of life,
In all its myriad forms,
With which the Earth is rife.
And while in and for
All Matter’s solidity,
‘Tis at last one Spirit
That governs Life’s
Promise and floridity;
By Him all spirits
Are overridden,
All must do as
By Him is bidden.
And despite how tangible
The physical seems,
Spirit is the end,
Not the means.
For when and how much
Is there justice enough?
How far does it extend?
Of justice,
There is never enough
To satisfy all demand,
But that He permits.
And though howsoever
Unjust, absurd, or tragic,
A given day of life appears,
Yet it never hurts
To bring comfort or dry tears;
To stand up
And vie for what’s right;
Even though surrounded
And engulfed by Night.
And when things
Get too complicated and confusing,
Look to what it is you are
Choosing as your good.
Keep it simple.
Do your duty.
Respect in your heart
What’s right.
Be a good son, father, brother;
Or daughter, sister, mother;
And from the murk
Of irrational thought
See back to the Light.
