One day closer to Christmas, one more Christmas poem. Today's is The Mystic's Christmas by John Greenleaf Whittier.
I don't know when Whittier lived and wrote (and yes, I know I could just read his profile, but roll with me), but I'm guessing the 1800s because of the rhyme and the evenness of lines and even the subject and the way it is approached. It's a religious poem, taken from a slightly 'off' angle. The pomp surrounding Christmas is not all needed if you truly are celebrating Jesus' birth. "judge not him who every morn/ Feels in his heart the Lord Christ born!"
It's interesting that that is the 'mystic's' message. Mystics are regarded as more in-touch spiritually/out-of-touch with reality. Mystics are always speaking truths that others haven't seen/grasped yet.
I guess the talk about the commercialization of Christmas is not at all new.
Favorite line: "Why sitt'st thou thus?"
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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What do you think of today's poem?