Despite the title, this is a Christmas poem. I wrote it several years ago about the joy and anticipation I felt, as a child, at this time of year. This was embedded in family and community rituals I experienced growing up. In a consumptive and materialistic world, some of this has been lost. What I do is hold onto the memories.
We lived in an old house and it was often very cold. In the evenings, my mother and three older brothers went across the street to the church for evening mass. This was part of the rite of passage for me. In junior high, I joined them.
Many evenings, I sat by the heavily frosted window to watch my mother and brothers return. Some of those evenings were clear, the sky filled with stars, and sometimes the Northern Lights were part of Nature’s light show.
Breathlessly awaiting,
Through frosted window peering
Small children–
Soaking it in.
Heavens rippling–
Lights undulating;
A celebratory fury
An indisputable guide.
An old house speaking;
Nature answering–
The heavens crackling
Sweet symphonic music.
Earth’s floor–
Blanketed in white
Celestial colours shimmering
Capturing young eyes.
A vivid winter scene,
A sensual, sensory palette,
Reminding–
Christ’s Mass draws near.
I took this picture at the farm this past weekend. The sun goes down early here at this time of the year. They had just had fresh snow, with about 8-10 inches falling in one day, so the scene was still quite untouched.
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About ivonprefontaine
In keeping with bell hooks and Noam Chomsky, I consider myself a public and dissident intellectual. Part of my work is to move beyond (transcend) institutional dogmas that bind me to defend freedom, raising my voice to be heard on behalf of those who seek equity and justice in all their forms.
I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA. My dissertation and research was how teachers experience becoming teachers and their role as leaders.
I focus on leading, communicating, and innovating in organizations. This includes mindfuful servant-leadership, World Cafe events, Appreciative Inquiry, and expressing one's self through creativity. I offer retreats, workshops, and presentations that can be tailored to your organzations specific needs.
I published peer reviewed articles about schools as learning organizations, currere as an ethical pursuit, and hope as an essential element of adult eductaion. I published three poems and am currently preparing my poetry to publish as an anthology of poetry.
I present on mindful leadership, servant leadership, schools as learning organizations, how teachers experience becoming teachers, assessement, and critical thinking. I facilitate mindfulness, hospitality retreats. and World Cafe Events using Appreciative Inquiry.
I am writing and researching about various forms of leadership, how teachers inform and form their identity as a particular teacher, schools as learning organizations, hope and its anticipatory relationship with the future, and hope as an essential element in learning.
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
Beautiful tree.
Thank you Gigi.
Sweet memories of childhood.
They are aren’t they.
Couldn’t get my comment through because I couldn’t remember my password. Maybe that’s better. It was rather personal. Thank you for having the courage to share your poem. I still miss your Mom badly. Can’t wait for us to all be together again. Our great family.
Love LL
On Wed, 18 Dec 2019, 1:43 p.m. Teacher as Transformer, wrote:
> ivonprefontaine posted: “Despite the title, this is a Christmas poem. I > wrote it several years ago about the joy and anticipation I felt, as a > child, at this time of year. This was embedded in family and community > rituals I experienced growing up. In a consumptive and materialist” >
Thank you Laura Lee. It got through. It gets hung up in an approval system.
Beautiful, and beautiful.
Thank you.
Magical poem, your childhood memory alive and beautiful. Happy Christmas
Thank you Teri. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
So nice
Thank you Luisa.
Lovely ❤️
Thank you Patrice.
Very sweet, Ivon. Christmas has a way of doing that – reminding us of laughter and joy.
Thank you Carolyn. It does and we should carry that feeling throughout the year.
You are welcome Bruce. And, thank you for wonderful posts and sharing the links with me. Take care and enjoy.
Beauty
Thank you.
🙂🙂🙃
It’s way past christmas, but that post can warm you thru the year! Thankyou for the share!
You are welcome and thank you.