Sunday, December 28, 2008

Ghostly Christmas...

This poem was written after listening to a Serbian acquaintance of mine. He narrated how his country had problems with war and how dank Christmas would be out there.. So this poem is actually inspired by that..As we enjoy Christmas, we must spare a thought for those who are too grief-stricken to celebrate Christmas and whose lives are so uncertain that they are not sure whether they will still be alive when the day ends.




Memories jingling of church bells,
Scatterings distant, of broken glass,
Lauding harmony of ever gone choral songs,
Ghostly Christmas; visited my war struck town.

Hushed together in cellars stone cold,
Humming carols with a mind forgone,
Counting shots of mad rebels treading south,
Another Christmas, marched in my war torn town.

Crevices revealing ghostly pines afar,
A moment; eyes saw gay spectral lights.
Imaginations silvered flashed; of good times,
Christmas came again to my war stripped town.

Berries iced blue on oak with mistletoe,
Longed to bless kisses of the jubilant young,
Alas! Nay shall this dream come alive again,
Christmas reigned again in this strife land.

Shots reverberating in ears for long,
From distant bonfire of guerilla wars,
Drunken soldiers discarded hymnal songs,
Welcomed Christmas to my war torn land.

Death wrapped in guise of Santa’s gift,
Awaited us all beneath some Christmas pine,
Abandoned our manger Lord ye again,
Yet Christmas celebrates in this land today.


8 comments:

Unknown said...

Reads like a leaf straight out of a war poet's diary... reminded me of Rob Browning with a dash of A.L. Tennyson.

Nice beginning... the imagery the words create about a war ravaged ground and the irony of festive celebration is stark. Efficient use of metaphors in the last 2 stanzas. Overall, a very neat composition.

Unknown said...

Very starkly and sadly real, Wandering gypsy...
An the explicit expression, so vivid, makes one wish all the more for the blessing of he Saviour on all the strife torn and saddened populace, anew!
A touching write too!

Nikhil Ranbhise said...

All the suffering and terrible pictures we form turns into hope as we read the last stanza. Made me think about all these people out there...Quite a piece of work!! You made me thought about what is not my reality but many people's reality. Yet, i found a great message in the last lines. Hope in Christmas and what is xmas but Jesus among us.The real cure for war!!!Awesome Wandering gypsy. I'm proud of you!!

Anonymous said...

Is'nt it sad, that so many people in other parts of the world have to go through this,especially during Christmas..You've powerfully depicted the picture of the devastation and despair and the atrocities that these disadvantaged people have to face in a war torn land each and every day of their lives.Makes one realize how lucky we are,we need to count our blessings each day,I reckon.I find this poem to be a symbolic and wonderful reminder..beautiful!!

Arpita Roy said...

Intense... You could stir a few heartstrings with the contrasting pictures... The spirit of X'mas & the bitter reality of a ghostly land and its people

God bless your friend! God bless Serbia ! God bless you, Wandering gypsy!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic! I liked the first two stanzas. It tears at your heart. Well written!

Cynthia said...

Sad, but I know others so less
fortunate must be rememebered and
you've done so with elegance.

theScorpianVJ said...

Brilliant!!!

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Poetry by Wandering Gypsy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.