Today I offer you a pair of poems relating to modern-day Christmas tidings:

Published in 1977:

The Christmas Letter
    ~John N. Morris

Wherever you are when you receive this letter
I write to say we are still ourselves
In the same place
And hop you are the same.

The dead have died as you know
And will never get better,
And the children are boys and girls
Of their several ages and names.

So in closing I send you our love
And hope to hear from you soon.
There is never a time
Like the present. It lasts forever
Wherever you are. As ever I remain.

Published in 2012:

Christmas Mail
    ~Ted Kooser

Cards in each mailbox,
angel, manger, star and lamb,
as the rural carrier,
driving the snowy roads,
hears from her bundles
the plaintive bleating of sheep,
the shuffle of sandals,
the clopping of camels.
At stop after stop,
she opens the little tin door
and places deep in the shadows
the shepherds and wise men,
the donkeys lank and weary,
the cow who chews and muses.
And from her Styrofoam cup,
white as a star and perched
on the dashboard, leading her
ever into the distance,
there is a hint of hazelnut,
and then a touch of myrrh.

Finally, a quick reminder that it’s not too late to sign up for a spot in the tour to share your own holiday traditions and thoughts. Dec. 14-19 are all available.