Vox Populi

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David Baker: Holiday Wish

No snow. A little fog. The afternoon

is a few short hours and evening falls.

But look how the sun hangs down

its old rope, good for one more pull.

.

Look at the latticework of leaves

in the stricken ash, golden in the gray,

like coins in a purse or notes from some old hymn.

I hope my friends are warm this day.

.

I hope the ones I love, will always love—

the one gone far away, the two sweet

souls holding hands near the end,

humming through a feverish night,

.

the ones whose needs I cannot guess

or have no needs this lucky day

on earth—I hope for them, for all of us,

a little peace, a touch of ease, another day

.

come round with steady light. So quiet now.

So still. A flake of snow, then two.

I hope you hear a bell from far away

begin to peal. This bell I pull for you.


Copyright 2022 David Baker.

David Baker’s many books include Whale Fall (Norton, 2022). He holds the Thomas B. Fordham Chair at Denison University, in Granville, Ohio, and is Poetry Editor of “The Kenyon Review.”


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8 comments on “David Baker: Holiday Wish

  1. John Balaban
    December 25, 2022
    John Balaban's avatar

    Fine poem. Glad you posted it.

    Like

  2. Rose Mary Boehm
    December 24, 2022
    Rose Mary Boehm's avatar

    Just LOVE it! Happy Winter Solstice!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. sabinso
    December 24, 2022
    sabinso's avatar

    Lovely. Simple, but powerful

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Barbara Huntington
    December 24, 2022
    Barbara Huntington's avatar

    Ringing through the chill (for San Diego) early morning as guests, returning home to Kansas, have left and I’ve turned off the lights and returned to the cool sheets and will turn over and sleep with this poem and the dog. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Vox Populi
      December 24, 2022
      Vox Populi's avatar

      Thank YOU, Barb, for all your generous and sincere comments on the poems and articles in VP over the last year.

      >

      Liked by 1 person

      • Barbara Huntington
        December 24, 2022
        Barbara Huntington's avatar

        Vox Populi has become one of those daily pleasures that keep me going. Thank you.

        Like

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This entry was posted on December 24, 2022 by in Opinion Leaders, Poetry, spirituality and tagged , , , , .

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