Guilford Poets Guild

In December, we’re highlighting some of our favorite holiday poems and writings. This Shel Silverstein was submitted by Nancy Meneely.

SNOWBALL
Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snowball,
As perfect as could be,
I thought I’d keep it as a pet,
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pyjamas,
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first, it wet the bed!

In December, we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite holiday poems and writings. This essay by Juliana Harris was published in the Kansas City Star in 2006.

CHRISTMAS AT SAINT PAUL’S

“While there is time,” Dr. Trelease, the Rector of Saint Paul’s Church, would say, “let us do good to all men, especially those that are of the kingdom of heaven,”

I’m sure the orphans from the City Union Mission were of the kingdom of heaven, but they certainly put a damper on my Christmas spirit. They would arrive in a green school bus on the Sunday before Christmas to have dinner and be given gifts that we, the Sunday school children, would provide. The orphans made me miserable. They were perfectly nice in their hand-me-down clothes, and that just made it worse. They didn’t have a mommy or a daddy for goodness sake! What could I say to them? I could barely bring myself to look at them, let alone speak. They seemed to enjoy themselves but when the end of the evening came and they boarded their bus, I stood in front of the church watching the red taillights disappear, heading for home with a heavy heart.

What kind of Christmas were they going to have? Would they have presents from Santa? Would he come down the chimney at the Mission? Was there a chimney at the Mission? Oh dear! These thoughts crowded my brain as I trudged through the snow but once I got home, all gloom vanished in anticipation of the glories of Christmas morning,

A Christmas hasn’t gone by since that I don’t remember those winking taillights and the passengers within. I like to think they went on to have many happy Christmases of their own. I know they taught me a valuable lesson: “While there is time, let us do good to all men, especially those that are of the kingdom of heaven.”

Guilford Poets Guild member Nan Meneely recently completed work on lyrics for the album I Sang My Heart to the Moon, composed by Austrian composer Oliver Ostermann, and sung by Brian Cheney and Johanna Ostermann.

Colin Clarke at Fanfare Magazine writes: “At a time of pandemic, perhaps we need some music that might have come from the musicals to soothe us, and that is exactly what Austrian composer Oliver Ostermann provides in his new album, I Sang My Heart to the Moon—eight songs to calm the soul, to provide solace….The titles tell the story, of course: Love Apart (separation), The Moon (a lonely instrumental), I Sang My Heart to the Moon (a song of pining), The Stars (another instrumental). Perhaps most poignantly, there is I Need a Song; we all need music, as the present situation has surely proved. This song, with its wit and charm, is a winner.”

He goes on to say that “The lyrics, by Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely, constitute beautiful poetry in and of themselves.”

You can read the full review here, but even better is to listen to some FREE samples of the the music! Click here.