I don’t usually have a lot of trouble writing from a prompt, but this year, as I sat down to write my annual Christmas letter to go out with Christmas cards, I decided I’d try to write a Christmas poem to go with it. Perhaps because this year has been so full of trials, I had a hard time getting any particularly Christmas-y words down. Not because I don’t feel the holiday spirit, but because I’m thinking so much about what that really means to me. The villanelle that arose wasn’t what I expected, but perhaps will offer a little hope to someone during a difficult holiday season. Sometimes we forget to be thankful for the trials in our lives, but without them, there would be no life to remember. Enjoy, and happy holidays:
Caveats for Hope
Harken well each tribulation
without which we could not know glee.
Heralds of joy and celebration,
