Epiphany

It's the Twelfth Day of Christmas, and all through the house - boxes and papers and big red and green plastic containers - my Boxing Day.  Christmas is past, the elves and Christmas fairies have departed and ancient la befana has swept out the old.  La befana, who missed out on the Journey of the Magi because she was doing housework - ha, there's a lesson.  As Mary and Martha after her, la befana is a caution to those of us who might be inclined to insist on finishing their housework whilst the magic and wonder of the world passes us by.  I'm not one of those (except I can't leave a bed unmade or dishes in the sink).

I'm glad to pack it up and leave it behind until the darkness of the first days of next Advent befalls us. The tree comes down, the boxes go into storage.  Yesterday, I made ham and fresh tomato soup, a tradition I began after a trip to Cape Cod, where I picked up a local cookbook and found the unlikely pairing of ham and tomatoes.   I used tomatoes from our garden, frozen without processing, which I find perfectly adequate for sauces and soups.

It is a hard time to feel optimistic, when the festivity of the lights on the tree and candles on the table have dimmed with the reality of the body politic and its grim portents.  I was reading from the Book of Days, courtesy Convivio Bookworks, and found a lovely quotation by its author, John Cutrone on the Star of the East, and find hope in his posting:

                 And so we follow that star.  May it always be in our sights and in our hearts and in our dealings with our fellow companions on this old earth.  And one last time this year, we say unto you:  "Merry Christmas."

Blue eyed boys

I loved some blue-eyed boys,
long ago,
But not so far away.
Briefly, I loved them, too briefly,
of course.
Ice blue, sky blue, August blue eyes:
Cowboy, poet, philosopher,
Soulmate, playmate, schoolmate,
Mated early, mated late -
Blue-eyed boys, sun-streaked blondes
Decidedly not the dusky  boys of my dreams...
But they stole my heart
For a time.

I loved some blue-eyed boys
long ago,
But not so far away.